St Patrick’s Day (17 March)

Post submitted by Ella, one of our Student Experience Ambassadors

St Patrick’s Day is named after St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, who was a Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland during the fifth century. It is celebrated each year on 17 March, the day on which Patrick supposedly died. It was originally a religious holiday but has since become a celebration of Irish culture.

Green is the colour associated with the celebrations – Ireland is an island often known as the Emerald Isle for its lush green landscape. However, St Patrick was actually associated with the colour blue and ancient Irish flags actually feature this colour. Green therefore only became the colour of St Patrick’s Day in the 18^th century when the shamrock became the national symbol of Ireland. From then on, the colour green has stuck!

To celebrate, people attend parades of traditional Irish dancers and musicians. One of the traditions on St Patrick’s Day stems from Irish folklore which states that wearing green makes you invisible to leprechauns. So, if you don’t wear green, you’re at risk of being pinched by a leprechaun! The colour is also a symbol of good luck and is tied to Irish ancestry. This means you’ll often see green decorations around, and if you’re in Illinois you’ll notice that the Chicago River gets dyed green for the holiday.