Saint Patrick's Day

For other uses, see Saint Patrick's Day (disambiguation).

Saint Patrick's Day
A stained glass window depicts Saint Patrick dressed in a green robe with a halo about his head, holding a sham rock in his right hand and a staff in his left.
Saint Patrick depicted in a stained-glass window at Saint Benin's Church, Ireland
Official nameSaint Patrick's Day
Also called
  • Feast of Saint Patrick
  • Lá Fhéile Pádraig
  • Patrick's Day
  • (St) Paddy's Day
  • (St) Patty's Day (chiefly North America)[1][2][3][4]
Observed by
TypeEthnic, national, Christian
SignificanceFeast day of Saint Patrick,
commemoration of the arrival of Christianity in Ireland[5][6]
Celebrations
ObservancesChristian processions; attending Mass or service
Date17 March
Next time17 March 2025 (2025-03-17)
FrequencyAnnual

Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit. 'the Day of the Festival of Patrick'), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (c. 385 – c. 461), the foremost patron saint of Ireland.

Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Christian feast day in the early 17th century and is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland),[7] the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Lutheran Church. The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, and, by extension, celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general.[5][8] Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, céilithe, and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks.[9] Christians who belong to liturgical denominations also attend church services[8][10] and historically the Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol were lifted for the day, which has encouraged and propagated the holiday's tradition of mass alcohol consumption.[8][9][11][12]

Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland,[13] Northern Ireland,[14] the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (for provincial government employees), and the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated in the United Kingdom,[15] Canada, United States, Argentina, Australia, South Africa,[16] and New Zealand, especially amongst Irish diaspora. Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated in more countries than any other national festival.[17] Modern celebrations have been greatly influenced by those of the Irish diaspora, particularly those that developed in North America. However, there has been criticism of Saint Patrick's Day celebrations for having become too commercialised and for fostering negative stereotypes of the Irish people.[18]

  1. ^ Bolton, Doug (16 March 2016). "One Irish creative agency is leading the charge against 'St. Patty's Day'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018. That's the thinking behind the No More Patty Google Chrome extension, created by Dublin-based creative agency in the Company of Huskies. The extension can be installed in a few clicks, and automatically replaces every online mention of the "very wrong" 'Patty' with the "absolutely right" 'Paddy'.
  2. ^ Jenkins, Aric (15 March 2017). "Why Some Irish People Don't Want You to Call It St. Patty's Day". Time. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  3. ^ "Is It "St. Patrick's Day" Or "St. Patricks Day"?". dictionary.com. 17 March 2021. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  4. ^ Jordan Valinsky. (8 January 2015). "Dublin Airport would like to remind you it's St. Paddy's Day, not St. Patty's Day". The Week. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  5. ^ a b Ritschel, Chelsea; Michallon, Clémence (17 March 2022). "What is the meaning behind St Patrick's Day?". The Independent. Retrieved 17 March 2022. The day of celebration, which marks the day of St Patrick's death, is a religious holiday meant to celebrate the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, and made official by the Catholic Church in the early 17th century. Observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Lutheran Church, the day was typically observed with services, feasts and alcohol.
  6. ^ Ariel, Shlomo (2018). Multi-Dimensional Therapy with Families, Children and Adults: The Diamond Model. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-58794-5. In many culture, identity perception is supported by constitutive myths, traditions and rituals (e.g. the Jewish Passover, the myth of the foundation of Rome [the tale of Romulus and Remus] and St. Patrick's Day, which commemorates the arrival of Christianity to Ireland and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general).
  7. ^ "St Patrick's Day celebrations". Church of Ireland. The Irish Times. 12 March 2011. Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2013 – via ireland.anglican.org.
  8. ^ a b c Willard Burgess Moore (1989). Circles of Tradition: Folk Arts in Minnesota. Minnesota Historical Society Press. p. 52. ISBN 9780873512398. Retrieved 13 November 2010. In nineteenth-century America it became a celebration of Irishness, more than a religious occasion, though attending Mass continues as an essential part of the day.
  9. ^ a b Willard Burgess Moore (1989). Circles of Tradition: Folk Arts in Minnesota. Minnesota Historical Society Press. p. 52. ISBN 9780873512398. Retrieved 13 November 2010. The religious occasion did involve the wearing of shamrocks, an Irish symbol of the Holy Trinity, and the lifting of Lenten restrictions on drinking.
  10. ^ Barth, Edna (2001). Shamrocks, Harps, and Shillelaghs: The Story of the St. Patrick's Day Symbols. Sandpiper. p. 7. ISBN 0618096515. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2010. For most Irish-Americans, this holiday (from holy day) is partially religious but overwhelmingly festive. For most Irish people in Ireland the day has little to do with religion at all and St. Patrick's Day church services are followed by parades and parties, the latter being the best attended. The festivities are marked by Irish music, songs, and dances.
  11. ^ Nagle, John (2009). Multiculturalism's Double-Bind. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-0-754-67607-2. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2010. Like many other forms of carnival, St. Patrick's Day is a feast day, a break from Lent in which adherents are allowed to temporarily abandon rigorous fasting by indulging the forbidden. Since alcohol is often proscribed during Lent the copious consumption of alcohol is seen as an integral part of St. Patrick's day.
  12. ^ James Terence Fisher (2007). Communion of Immigrants: A History of Catholics in America. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199842254. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2010. The 40-day period (not counting Sundays) prior to Easter is known as Lent, a time of prayer and fasting. Pastors of Irish-American parishes often supplied "dispensations" for St. Patrick s Day, enabling parishioners to forego Lenten sacrifices in order to celebrate the feast of their patron saint.
  13. ^ "Public holidays in Ireland". Citizens Information Board. Archived from the original on 17 November 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2010. There is only one place outside of Ireland that celebrates St. Patrick's Day as a national public holiday: the island of Montserrat. The small pear-shaped island is about 40 square miles and is located just south of Antigua. It's known as the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean.
  14. ^ "Bank holidays". NI Direct. Archived from the original on 22 November 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  15. ^ Ritschel, Chelsea (17 March 2019). "St Patrick's Day 2019: When is it and where can I celebrate?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  16. ^ "St Patrick's Day – Department of Foreign Affairs". www.dfa.ie.
  17. ^ Cronin & Adair (2002), p. 242[1]
  18. ^ Varin, Andra. "The Americanization of St. Patrick's Day". ABC News. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.