Luck of the Irish: Unraveling the Rich History of St. Patrick’s Day

Good afternoon everyone! While I know I’m late, I wanted to keep with March’s theme by writing about St. Patrick’s Day. Saint Patrick, born in 5th-century Britain, is patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. He was born in Roman Britain, but was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at age 16. He managed to escape, but would return to Ireland and bring Christianity with him. Now, how long has St. Patrick’s Day been celebrated? Well, since the 9th or 10th century, people in Ireland have been observing a Roman Catholic feast day honoring St. Patrick on March 17. Funnily enough, the first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place in Ireland, not America. Records show that a St. Patrick’s Day parade was held on March 17, 1601 in the Spanish colony of St. Augustine, Florida. It was organized by the Spanish colony’s Irish vicar Ricardo Artur. A century later, homesick Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched in New York City on March 17, 1762 to honor the Irish patron saint. From there, enthusiasm for St. Patrick’s Day parades only grew in New York City, Chicago, Boston, and other early American cities. Over the next couple of decades, Irish patriotism among American immigrants flourished, prompting the rise of so-called “Irish Aid” societies such as The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and the Hibernian Society. Each of these groups would hold annual parades featuring bagpipes and drums. In 1851, several New York Irish Aid societies decided to unite their parades to form one official New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Today, the New York City parade is the world’s oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States, with over 150,000 participants. Each year, nearly 3 million people line the 1.75 mile parade route to watch the procession, which takes more than five hours. Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Savannah also celebrate the day with parades involving between 10,000 and 20,000 participants each. In 2020, the New York City parade was one of the first major city events to be canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was replaced by a low profile march in 2021. The parade in New York and others around the country returned in 2022. With all this being said, happy belated St. Patrick’s Day folks! Peace out!