HAPPY ST PATRICKS DAY!!!

On the last day of this countdown I thought a little history about the day and currant traditions would be fitting

In the past, Saint Patrick's Day was celebrated as a religious holiday. It became a public holiday in 1903. The first St. Patrick's Day parade held was held in Dublin in 1931. Although secular celebrations now exist, the holiday remains a religious observance in Ireland, for both the Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic Church.

It was only in the mid-1990s that the Irish government began a campaign to use Saint Patrick's Day to showcase Ireland and its culture. The government set up a group called St. Patrick's Festival.

The first Saint Patrick's Festival was held on 17 March 1996. In 1997, it became a three-day event, and by 2000 it was a four-day event. By 2006, the festival was extended to a five day event.

However in recent years Christian leaders in Ireland have expressed concern about the secularization of St Patrick's Day. March 2007 in The Word magazine's, Fr. Vincent Twomey stated that, "it is time to reclaim St Patrick's Day as a church festival". He questioned the need for "mindless alcohol-fuelled revelry" and concluded that, "it is time to bring the piety and the fun together".

"Wearing of green"

Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in celebration of St Patrick's Day as early as the 17th century. It is said that St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish, and the wearing and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs have become a ubiquitous feature of the day. The phrase "the wearing of the green" (a popular Irish folk song), means to wear a shamrock on one's clothing

In the US of A

Irish Society of Boston organized what was the first Saint Patrick's Day Parade in the colonies on March 17, 1737. The first celebration of Saint Patrick's Day in New York City was held at the Crown and Thistle Tavern in 1766, the parades were held as political and social statements because the Irish immigrants were being treated unfairly. New York's first Saint Patrick's Day Parade was held on March 17, 1762 by Irish soldiers in the British Army. In 1780, General George Washington, who commanded soldiers of Irish descent in the Continental Army, allowed his troops a holiday on March 17, 1780 as an act of solidarity with the Irish in their fight for independence." This event became known as The St. Patrick's Day Encampment of 1780.

TODAY

In the Northeastern United States, peas are traditionally planted on Saint Patrick's Day. Random? Yes. Interesting? Definatly.

Seattle and other cities paint the traffic stripe of their parade routes green. Chicago dyes its river green and has done so since 1961 when sewer workers used green dye to check for sewer discharges and got the idea to turn the river green for St. Patrick's Day (the dye only lasts a few hours). Indianapolis also dyes its main canal green. Savannah dyes its downtown city fountains green. Missouri University of Science and Technology - St Pat's Board Alumni paint 12 city blocks kelly green with mops before the annual parade. In Jamestown, New York, the Chadakoin River (a small tributary that connects Conewango Creek with its source at Chautauqua Lake) is dyed green each year.

Even the Capital gets involved on St. Patrick’s Day. Last year was the first year to dye the fountain green

Chicago dyes its river green and has done so since 1961 when sewer workers used green dye to check for sewer discharges and got the idea to turn the river green for St. Patrick's Day

 (the dye only lasts a few hours).

The Chicago River in Chicago, Illinois on Saint Patrick's Day.

In Savannah, Georgia a parade travels through Savannah's Historic District. One tradition that has developed has been the official "dyeing of the fountains" which happens several days before the parade.

In Hot Springs, Arkansas, perhaps the smallest notable parade is the World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade. St. Patrick’s day parade is held annually on historic Bridge Street which became famous in the 1940s when Ripley’s Believe It or Not designated it “The Shortest Street in the World.”

Indianapolis dyes their river green too

In Syracuse, New York celebrations begin with the delivery of green beer to Coleman's Irish Pub on the first Sunday of March. Coleman's is located in the Tipperary Hill section of the city. Tipperary Hill is home to the World famous "Green-on-Top" Traffic Light and is historically the Irish section in Syracuse. Saint Patrick's Day is rung in at midnight with the painting of a Shamrock under the Green-Over-Red traffic light. Syracuse has the largest St. Patrick's Day celebration per-capita in the United States. Their annual parade typically draws in an estimated crowd of more than 100,000 visitors to downtown Syracuse, as well as 5,000 to 6,000 marchers.

The New York City parade has become the largest Saint Patrick's Day parade in the world. In a typical year, 150,000 marchers with a couple of million spectators.

In Boston Massachusetts they dye the river green as well

Holyoke, Massachusetts was the site of massive Irish immigration in the 19th Century, and hosts a Parade its organizers claim is the second largest in the United States. It is heald on the Sunday following St. Patrick's Day each year. Attendance exceeds 300,000, with over 25,000 marchers, through a 2.3 mile route in this city of 40,000.

Even Rexburg Idaho is trying to instate an annual river dying

In Venice Italy they the canals seem a little greener on St. Patricks Day!

As you can see Saint Patrick's Day is widely celebrated in America by Irish and non-Irish alike. Many people, regardless of ethnic background, wear green-colored clothing and items. Traditionally, those who are caught not wearing green are pinched, usually affectionately.

Today, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated around the world! Get into the green sprit!