While drinking and revelry have become popular ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, it wasn’t until the 1960s that Irish pubs could serve alcohol during the holiday. In fact, from 1927 to 1961, Ireland’s Intoxicating Liquor Act banned bars from opening on March 17, since the holiday falls during the religious period of Lent and excessive alcohol consumption was deemed too sinful. A similar prohibition in the same 1927 law kept Irish bars and pubs shut on Good Friday until 2018.
Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, lived during the fifth century. He was first brought to Ireland from Britain as a slave at the age of 16. He later escaped, but returned again to Ireland as a missionary and is credited with introducing Christianity there, later becoming a bishop. Legend has it that he explained the concept of the Holy Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by using the three leaves of the Irish shamrock, joined together by a single stalk.
For Irish Catholics, the feast day of St. Patrick commemorates the life of the country's patron saint, who died on March 17, 461. For centuries, it was observed with solemnity and prayer out of respect for the revered missionary rather than as an excuse for raucous celebration. Although St. Patrick’s Day was declared an official public holiday in Ireland in 1903, it was actually in North America that St. Patrick's Day began to flourish as a cultural holiday.
The first St. Patrick's Day parade was held under the auspices of Irish vicar Ricardo Artur on March 17, 1601, in what is now St. Augustine, Florida (then a Spanish colony). In the 1700s, Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched in New York City and Boston to honor Saint Patrick on his feast day and celebrate their Irish heritage, wearing green, speaking Irish, and signing Irish songs. In 1848, the official New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade was established by several New York Irish Aid societies. These days, approximately three million people attend New York City’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which typically has around 150,000 participants and lasts more than five hours.
It wasn’t until 1995 that the Irish government seized upon the opportunity to “fully celebrate” its culture with the rest of the world – and enjoy a golden opportunity for tourism. This marked the creation of the St. Patrick’s Day Festival, a celebration in Dublin that attracts approximately one million people every year.
Celebrating St. Patrick:
- There are over 450 churches across the United States named after Saint Patrick. During the past century, approximately 650,000 American babies were given the name “Patrick.”
- Although Saint Patrick was never officially canonized, he is included in the list of saints to be venerated. The feast day of Saint Patrick was officially placed on the Catholic Church’s calendar in the 1600s.
- St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City is visited by 5.5 million people every year.
