St. Patrick’s Day: it’s this Thursday, March 17, how to celebrate it?

SAINT PATRICK. Between its parades, its Irish pubs, and its friendly crowd, Saint Patrick’s Day has become an unmissable celebration taking place in Dublin and other major cities around the world. It is traditionally held in March each year.

[Mis à jour le 16 mars 2022 à 09h49] St. Patrick’s Day 2022 promises to be festive! The 2020 edition had been canceled following the Covid-19 epidemic and the 2021 party took place under very special conditions, marked in particular by the absence of the traditional parade of Dublin. However, television broadcasts of shows and previous editions have taken place. This time, the restrictions have been lifted in many places and we should therefore find the magic of the traditional party. Every year, millions of people gather in bars and in the streets on the occasion of this Saint Patrick, a very important festival in Celtic culture, especially in Ireland.

Saint Patrick’s Day is also celebrated all over the world. In the United States, it is also an opportunity to celebrate and highlight the large Irish community and its rich history in American heritage. Many monuments are then illuminated in green, including the famous Empire State Building in New York.

What is the date of Saint Patrick’s Day 2022?

Saint Patrick’s Day takes place on March 17 every year, no matter what day of the week it falls on. It is therefore not difficult to remember the date, Saint-Patrick’s Day is always celebrated on a fixed date. St. Patrick’s Day 2022 will take place on Thursday, March 17, 2022. In 2023, it will be a Friday, Friday, March 17, 2023!

Where to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day in France?

In France, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are numerous, especially in Irish pubs and bars which are always very busy. Shows can also be scheduled. The condition is of course to wear something green! The latest editions have not had the usual success due to the Covid-19 epidemic, with restaurants and bars content to offer products for delivery or take-out, when they could.

What is the St. Patrick’s Day program in Dublin?

In Dublin, the Saint Patrick’s Day festival was created by the government to highlight the “soul”, the talents and the successes of the Irish people. The aim is to shine internationally, to “send a real image of Ireland” and to celebrate through “imaginative and expressive celebrations”. A parade is usually organized in the streets of the Irish capital.

What is the St. Patrick’s Day program in Chicago?

In Chicago, where many Irish people emigrated from the 19th century, one of the traditions (half a century old) is to color the Chicago River green. Some 20 kilos of fluorescein (an orange substance, which emits a green fluorescent light when it comes into contact with ultraviolet rays) is poured into the water and then “mixed” thanks to a motorboat which swirls where the dye has been dropped. A magical spectacle, captured by televisions and photographers around the world, but ephemeral since the coloring of the river only lasts about 5 hours.

What is the St. Patrick’s Day program in New York?

new York is one of the cities in the world with the most inhabitants of Irish descent. Many immigrants passed through Ellis Island in the 19th century, fleeing the famine and misery of Europe to try their luck on the new continent. It is therefore not surprising that the megalopolis celebrates Saint-Patrick’s Day in a grand way! Every year on Saint Patrick’s Day, a large parade with more than 150,000 participants is organized on Fifth Avenue and more than 2 million people line the sidewalks to enjoy the spectacle.

What beer to drink on Saint Patrick’s Day?

On St. Patrick’s Day, Irish beers are obviously in the spotlight. Take the opportunity to taste the national beers: Kilkenny, Murphys, Beamish, Smithwick’s, Harp or the essential Guinness. (Alcohol abuse is dangerous for health, consume in moderation).

Who is Saint Patrick?

In Ireland, we do not mess with Saint Patrick, the patron saint of the country. All over the world, the Irish pay homage every March 17 to this clergyman (whose original name would be Maewyn Succat), who evangelized the island and founded Irish Christianity in the 5th century. At the time, the inhabitants rather followed Celtic beliefs (those of the Druids, in which several gods existed). The legend reports that it is with the help of a clover that Saint Patrick would have explained the principle of the Holy Trinity of the Catholic religion: the father, the son, the Holy Spirit. By succeeding in converting the Irish to Christianity, he would have thereby chased away all the snakes (the symbol of Satan) from the island. The shamrock has since become a strong symbol of Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated by Catholics, but also Anglicans, Orthodox and Protestants.

What is the history of Saint Patrick’s Day?

Contrary to what one might imagine, St. Patrick’s Day is not the Irish national holiday (it is not the equivalent of July 14th in France for example). It’s just a huge popular party, rooted in the country’s culture. It was celebrated from the 9th century in Ireland, then entered as such in the liturgical calendar in 1600. Since 1903, Saint Patrick’s Day has been a public holiday in Ireland (Eire, Northern Ireland and the island of Montserrat). And when St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Sunday (as it will in 2019), the public holiday is moved to Monday. The Irish take advantage of this day to go out and party. Parades are organized in the streets of cities, concerts are improvised in bars or on the sidewalks, dance circles are opened and beer flows freely in pubs. This festival is a way for the Irish to promote their culture.

Today, it is above all for its festive side that Saint-Patrick’s Day is appreciated all over the world. If Dublin organized its first parade in 1931, it is probably in the United States, more precisely in Boston, that the first parade of Saint-Patrick took place. The Irish diaspora living across the Atlantic is still very mobilized: Chicago even dyes its river green for the occasion (respecting the environment and the river, of course…)! All over the world, from new York in Sydney, events take place. Bagpipes, flags, traditional dancers, green-lit monuments… Irish folklore is king.