St. Patrick's Day by Cliona McConville

The 17th of March is known to the world as St. Patrick's Day, the feast day of the patron saint of Ireland and to those of Celtic blood in every corner of the globe it is a day to proudly dawn the Shamrock and celebrate Irish achievements, with all aspects of Irish culture: language, music and dance. In Ireland La Fheile Padraig (St. Patrick's Day) is a national holiday, but it is traditionally a religious occasion, when we celebrate the saint who brought Christianity to the Emerald Isle.

The story of St. Patrick is an interesting one. He is believed to have been born in Britain to wealthy parents, near the end of the fourth Centaury. At the age of sixteen, Patrick was taken prisoner by a band of Irish raiders who were attacking the family's estate. He was brought to Ireland and sold into slavery. During his years in captivity, he tended the herds of Irish Chieftains and turned to his religion for solace, becoming a devout Christian. Six years later he escaped to the Mediterranean, where he entered a monastery and studied hard to fulfill his dream of returning to Ireland and converting the people to Christianity.

He did return to Ireland as a missionary, successfully converting people to Christianity. He is said to have founded over 360 Churches and baptized thousands with his own hands. He brought enlightenment and civilization to the country thus it is little wonder that Irish over the generations have held him in such reverence.

In modern day Ireland, St. Patrick's Day celebrations are a week long affair which culminates in parades around the country of March 17th. 'Seachtain na Gaeilge' (Irish week) encourages people express their culture through language, music and dance. Irish language speakers to use more Gaelic while impromptu traditional music sessions and dance occur in the street.
For me, traditionally St. Patrick's Day begins with pinning Shamrock to my attire and attending morning Mass, which for this special day is celebrated in Gaelic. Following Mass, there is a quick chance to visit relatives before the parades and festivities begin. On this day, my family will eat traditional food, such as, potatoes, bacon and cabbage, wheaten soda bread or Irish stew. As a special treat, we are permitted to eat when we have 'gone off' during Lent, e.g. Candy.

The afternoon is spent attending a local parade in Newry, Co. Down one of numerous parades across the towns and cities of Ireland. There you will find everyone in good spirits, 'wearing the green' along with outside traditional music session, whatever the weather, on every street corner along with Irish dancing, comedy, outdoor spectaculars, visual art and street theatre. It is an Irish celebration of monumental proportions.

Nowadays, the annual feast day is widely celebrated far from Ireland, where Irish have immigrated to around the world in of course here in the United States, but also in Canada, United Kingdom, Argentina, New Zealand, Russia and Japan. In the U.S. the green carpet is rolled out and St. Patrick's Day is celebrated enthusiastically with 'the wearing of the green' which encompasses a feeling of what it means to be or just feel Irish. Pittsburgh St. Patrick's Day parade kicks off on Saturday March 13th, at 10.00am.