Madison Long
Staff Writer
Shouts fill the bars, and rounds of Guinness beers are passed around as crowds of green fans rush parade barriers to see the dancing leprechauns. Traditionally a religious Irish holiday, St. Patrick’s Day has turned into a worldwide phenomenon of pinching.
St. Patrick’s Day, taking place on Monday, March 17, usually goes unnoticed by students who don’t understand the true meaning behind the holiday. Instead, they learn the elementary definition: “Wear green or be pinched!”
“I personally think it’s actually a great holiday. I have fun,” says Michael Dickson, our Bengal Advertising Manager. “I get to wear my green socks, and I hide them so people don’t know I’m wearing green. And when I get pinched, I get to pinch them back.”
So what is it?
First celebrated around the ninth and tenth centuries, the holiday began as a Roman Catholic feast day to honor the anniversary of the death of Saint Patrick, the patron credited with bringing Christianity to the Irish people. Legends of his life surrounded the culture after his death, telling narratives about how he explained the holy trinity using the three leaves of the native Irish clover, the shamrock.
It may shock some to find out that Saint Patrick wasn’t even Irish himself, living in Great Britain until he was kidnapped at 16. He came to Ireland as a slave.
Although an Irish holiday, America hosted the first St. Patrick’s Day parade. In 1601, the Spanish colony of St. Augustine, Florida celebrated the holiday. However, the first recorded parade was in 1762, when Irish soldiers who had been serving in the English military marched through New York City.
The holiday is set during the Christian season of Lent – March 5 to April 17. Those celebrating St. Patrick’s Day traditionally indulge in the afternoon; their prohibitions of meat are waived so they can dance, drink, and feast on bacon and cabbage.
“My grandfather, he’s full-blooded Italian, and he went full out for St. Patrick’s Day. Every year, he’d get like five or six pieces of corned beef and he’d be in the backyard cooking everything up,” says Andrew Vaccarella Jr, a candidate for ASISU Senator for the College of Business. “We love St. Patrick’s Day; it’s just another excuse to get together as a family.”
Celebrations Now
Although established as a religious holiday in 1631, St. Patrick’s Day did not become an official public holiday until 1904. Until 1961 in Ireland, laws mandated closed pubs for the day. However, now the holiday season pumps up tourism and showcases Irish culture.
Parades in the United States have grown; the official New York City parade held for over 150,000 participants on a route that takes more than five hours to complete. Recipes like Irish soda bread, corned beef, cabbage, and champ – mashed potatoes, green onions, butter, and milk – are commonly shared around the world, along with a few rounds of beer.
One hundred pounds of green vegetable dye stained the Chicago River green for a week in 1962. The dye was originally used by city pollution-control workers to trace illegal sewage discharge. Now, workers dump around 40 pounds of dye, keeping the color for a few hours and reducing the environmental damage.
“I think it’s slept on,” says Sky Halter, a candidate for St. Patrick’s Day. “People just really need to embrace that.”
Wearing green began as a tradition of honoring the mark of Saint Patrick, where Irish citizens would pin a shamrock on their clothing. However, legends say that wearing green makes you invisible to Leprechauns, the mischievous icons. If you’re pinched, better get the green on!