Interesting Facts about St. Patrick’s Day that Everyone Should Know

St. Patrick’s Day is one of the most well-known holidays in the world, celebrated every year on March 17th both in Ireland and far beyond its borders. What initially began as a religious feast honouring the patron saint of Ireland has later evolved into a worldwide celebration of Irish history and culture. If you want to learn more about this meaningful holiday and how to get the famous luck of the Irish, here are some interesting facts about this celebration.

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Just like the name states, St. Patrick’s Day honours St. Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint, and is celebrated every year on March 17th, on the day of his death. Sadly, there are not a lot of written sources about St. Patrick, so most of his life is covered in mystery, yet it is known that he was born in Britain and served as a bishop in Ireland, later on being canonized and designated the guardian of the Emerald Isle after his death.

St. Patrick’s Day is the most widely celebrated national holiday in the world, and other than in Ireland, it is also commemorated in  the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and other European and Latin American nations where there is a numerous Irish diaspora. In some places, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated with certain customs and traditions, the most iconic one being held in Chicago, where the Chicago River is painted green every year.

Initially, gifting presents on the day of the celebration was not a custom, yet for many Irishmen St. Patrick’s Day became an additional reason to offer each other presents and bring some joy to the loved ones. The gifts are meant to be thoughtful and traditional, and are frequently intended for the entire family. Things like knitwear, accessories, jewellery, home blessings, ceramics, and a variety of other traditional Celtic-inspired items are among the most popular choices. Luckily, there are authentic Irish online stores such as ShamrockGift that offer a wide range of Irish presents so that every Irishman can get something for their friends and family members no matter where they live.

Parades represent one of the most popular ways of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, and they are certainly not a new thing. In fact, they date back over 300 years, and the first St. Patrick’s Day parade was held in New York City in 1766, three decades after the Irish immigrants first started celebrating his holiday in the United States. Other than that, the Irish spend this day cooking delicious national dishes, listening to folk music, and, of course, enjoying a pint of Guinness.

The shamrock is the national symbol of Ireland and it is believed that St. Patrick used it as a missionary to preach Christianity and explain the concept of the Holy Trinity to the pagans. Apart from making the shamrock an essential symbol of the country, legend also says that it was St. Patrick who expelled all snakes out of the country, as to this day Ireland is one of the few nations in the world where there are no such reptiles.