Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

On March 17, people in Ireland and in many other places around the world will celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. Saint Patrick’s Day is held in honor of the Patron Saint of Ireland. He is remembered for bringing Christianity to Ireland. It is said that he brought Christianity to the Irish people in the 400s AD. It is now a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is a day for people to celebrate Irish history, traditions and customs.

The color green is associated with Saint Patrick’s Day. People wear green clothes on this day. However, green was not the color of Saint Patrick. His color was actually Saint Patrick’s blue. This was a light shade of blue. Green was only associated with this day during the 18th century. This was the time when there was a movement to make Ireland independent, so the color changed from blue to the color of Ireland, green.

One of the largest Saint Patrick’s Day Parades isn’t actually in Ireland. It is held in New York City, America. It has been held since 1762. About 250,000 people walk down Fifth Avenue. In fact, Saint Patrick’s Day is important for many Americans. This is because more than 34 million Americans are of Irish descent. This means originally their family came from Ireland. The population of Ireland is only about 4.5 million people. That means there are nine times more people who are likely to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day in America.

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