This holiday commemorates St. Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.
It also celebrates Irish heritage and culture in general.
Celebrations often include public parades and festivals, and the wearing of the color green.
Why green? Wearing green and sporting shamrocks is a nod to St. Patrick because he is said to have used the three-leafed shamrock plant to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish.
St. Patrick’s Day became an official public holiday in Ireland in 1903.
The very first St. Patrick’s Day parade was also held in 1903 in Waterford.
Some of the most iconic names in poetry and literature hail from the Emerald Isle such as Oscar Wilde, Bernard Shaw, W.B. Yeats, and Samuel Beckett.
The potato was imported in the 17th century, and still today remains a symbol of Irish culture and hospitality.
Another important part of Irish culture is dancing– jigs, reels, and step dancing– popularized in the 1990s as a result of popular touring shows like Riverdance.
Traditional Irish music sees the use of instruments such as the fiddle, piano, and acoustic guitar, as well as native instruments like bouzoukis, uilleann pipes, and the Celtic harp.
