Finance          Automotive          Computers          Health          Shopping          Sports         News          Reference           Print Facts in English - BCUZ.COMlos hechos en Español

Saint Patrick's Day



Irish colonists brought Saint Patrick's Day to what is now the United States of America. The first civic and public celebration of Saint Patrick's Day in the 13 colonies took place in Boston, Massachusetts in 1737.[29] During this first celebration The Charitable Irish Society of Boston organized what was the first Saint Patrick's Day Parade in the colonies on 17 March 1737.[30] The first celebration of Saint Patrick's Day in New York City was held at the Crown and Thistle Tavern in 1756,[31] and New York's first Saint Patrick's Day Parade was held on 17 March 1762 by Irish soldiers in the British Army. In 1780, General George Washington, who commanded soldiers of Irish descent in the Continental Army, allowed his troops a holiday on 17 March. This event became known as The St. Patrick's Day Encampment of 1780.[30] Today, Saint Patrick's Day is widely celebrated in America by Irish and non-Irish alike.

Americans celebrate the holiday by wearing green clothing. Many people, regardless of ethnic background, wear green-coloured clothing and items. Traditionally, those who are caught not wearing green are pinched, though this practice is in fact alien to those who actually come from Ireland.[32]

Some cities paint the traffic stripe of their parade routes green. Chicago dyes its river green and has done so since 1961 when sewer workers used green dye to check for sewer discharges and got the idea to turn the river green for St. Patrick's Day.[33] Indianapolis also dyes its main canal green. Savannah dyes its downtown city fountains green. University of Missouri Rolla - St Pat's Board Alumni paint 12 city blocks kelly green with mops before the annual parade.[citation needed]

Many parades are held to celebrate the holiday including the cities listed below:

Postcard mailed in the United States in 1912
Postcard mailed in the United States in 1912

The longest-running Saint Patrick's Day celebrations in the U.S. are:

Savannah, GA, boasts the unofficial largest attendance with 750,000 in 2006.[citation needed] Unlike other cities, the parade in Savannah takes place on the actual day of Saint Patrick's Day; even if that day is during the work week. However for 2008, the parade will take place on Friday, 14 March, to honour Holy week in the Catholic faith.[36] In 2006, the Tánaiste was featured in the parade. Since the parade travels through Savannah's Historic Park District, one tradition that has developed has been the official "dyeing of the fountains" which happens several days before the parade. It has also become tradition for women spectators to kiss the Armed Forces Units and other military organization's male members. Savannah does not have an open container law so there is a proliferation of alcohol on River Street, Bay Street and in City Market.

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana, the parades include the influence of New Orleans Mardi Gras, with float riders throwing spectators strings of beads, cabbages, and potatoes.

Hot Springs, Arkansas

Perhaps the smallest notable parade World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade, is said to take place in Hot Springs, Arkansas in the United States annually held on historic Bridge Street which became famous in the 1940s when Ripley’s Believe It or Not designated it “The Shortest Street in the World.” Boulder, Colorado claims to have the shortest parade, which is also less than a single city block.[citation needed]

Syracuse, New York

In the city of Syracuse, NY, Saint Patrick's celebrations are traditionally begun with the delivery of green beer to Coleman's Irish Pub on the first Sunday of March. Coleman's is located in the Tipperary Hill section of the city. Tipperary Hill is home to the World famous "Green-on-Top" Traffic Light and is historically the Irish section in Syracuse. Saint Patrick's Day is rung in at midnight with the painting of a Shamrock under the Green-Over-Red traffic light. Syracuse boasts the largest St. Patrick's day celebration per-capita in the United States.

New York City

The New York parade has become the largest Saint Patrick's Day parade in the world. In a typical year, 150,000 marchers participate in it, including bands, firefighters, military and police groups, county associations, emigrant societies, and social and cultural clubs, and 2 million spectators line the streets.[5] The parade marches up 5th Avenue in Manhattan and is always led by the U.S. 69th Infantry Regiment. New York politicians - or those running for office - are always found prominently marching in the parade. Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch once proclaimed himself "Ed O'Koch" for the day,[29] and he continues to don an Irish sweater and march every year up until 2003, even though he is no longer in office.

The parade is organized and run by the Ancient Order of Hibernians.[citation needed] For many years, the St. Patrick's Day Parade was the primary public function of the organization. On occasion the order has appointed controversial Irish republican figures (some of whom were barred from the U.S.) to be its Grand Marshal.[citation needed]

The New York parade is moved to the previous Saturday (16 March) in years where 17 March is a Sunday. The event also has been moved on the rare occasions when, due to Easter falling on a very early date, 17 March would land in Holy Week. This same scenario is scheduled to arise again in 2008, when Easter will also fall on 23 March, but the festivities took place at their normal date and had record viewers.[37] In many other American cities (such as San Francisco), the parade is always held on the Sunday before 17 March, regardless of the liturgical calendar.

Scranton, Pennsylvania

Due to the rich history of Scranton participation in St. Patrick's Day festivities it is one of the oldest and most populated parades in the United States. It has been going on annually since 1862 by the St. Patrick's Day Parade Association of Lackawanna County and the parade has gotten attention nationally as being one of the better St. Patrick's Day parades. The parade route begins on Wyoming Ave. and loops up to Penn Ave. and then Lackawanna Ave. before going back down over Jefferson Ave. to get to Washington Ave. Scranton hosts the third largest St. Patrick's Day Parade in the United States. In 2008, up to 150,000 people attended the parade.

Seattle, Washington

Due to Seattle's northern state climates, like Ireland, the city received many Irish immigrants. So many that Seattle and Galway are sister cities. Every year on St. Patrick's Day, the Seattle Parade starts at 4th Avenue and Jefferson to the Reviewing Stand at Westlake Park, ending officially at the Seattle Center. The annual Irish Week Festival is enormous, including step dancing, food, historical and modern exhibitions, and Irish lessons. This is all celebrated on St. Patrick's Day and sometimes carries on until the 15, 16, and 17 March.

Las Vegas, Nevada

The Southern Nevada, (formerly Las Vegas) Sons of Erin has put on a parade since 1966. It was formerly held on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas, later moved to 4th street. Since 2005, the parade has been held in downtown Henderson. It is one of the biggest parades in the state of Nevada. It also consists of a three day festival, carnival and classic car show in Old Town Henderson.

Baltimore, Maryland

The festivities of the St. Patrick's Day Parade (since 1956) include a 5K race with a finish line at Power Plant Live! and a brunch (both on the day of the parade) plus numerous fundraisers in Baltimore's Irish restaurants, leading up to the event.

Rolla, Missouri
See also: Missouri University of Science and Technology#St. Patrick's Day

Rolla is home to the Missouri University of Science & Technology (formerly known as University of Missouri-Rolla, and Missouri School of Mines), an engineering college. St. Patrick is the patron saint of engineers, and the school and town's celebrations last for a week or more, with a downtown parade held the Saturday before St. Pat's. A royal court are crowned, and the streets of the city's downtown area are painted solid green. In 2008, Rolla celebrates its 100th St. Patrick's Day festival.

In previous years, a pit of green liquid was made by students as part of the festivities, and named 'Alice' -- stepping into Alice was a rite of bravery. In recent years, however, the university faculty has banned the practice out of health concerns.[38]

Baseball

Although the baseball season is still in the spring training phase when St. Patrick's Day rolls around, some teams celebrate by wearing St. Patrick's Day themed uniforms. The Cincinnati Reds were the first team to ever wear St. Patrick's Day hats in 1978. The Boston Red Sox were the second team to start wearing St. Patrick's Day hats in 1990.[39] Many teams have since wearing St. Patrick's day themed jerseys, including the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1980s and Boston Red Sox in 2004.[40] Since then it has become a tradition of many sports teams to also wear special uniforms to celebrate the holiday. The Los Angeles Dodgers also have a history with the Irish-American community. With the O'Malley family owning the team and now Frank McCourt, the Dodgers have had team celebrations or worn green jerseys on St. Patrick's Day.[41] The Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies also wear St. Patrick's Day caps and jerseys.[42] Other teams celebrate by wearing kelly green hats. These teams include: the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago White Sox, the New York Mets, the San Diego Padres, the Atlanta Braves, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Kansas City Royals, the Seattle Mariners and the St. Louis Cardinals.[43]

Nearly all major league baseball teams now produce St. Patrick's day merchandise, including Kelly green hats, jerseys, and t-shirts.[44]

Food

Corned beef and cabbage is the most common meal eaten in the United States for St. Patrick's Day[citation needed], even though historically, corned beef and cabbage is an American (rather than a traditionally Irish) meal.

In the United States, many people have also made the holiday a celebration of the colour green. These people, besides wearing green on that day, may also stage dinner parties featuring all green foods.

[

See also

Holidays Portal
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[

External articles and references

Citations and notes
  1. ^ Federal Holidays Calendars from 1997 to 2010. Retrieved on 17 March 2008.
  2. ^ The Catholic Encyclopedia: Luke Wadding. Retrieved on 15 February 2007.
  3. ^ "St. Patrick's Day, Catholic Church march to different drummers", USA Today. Retrieved on 2008-03-11. 
  4. ^ Nevans-Pederson, Mary (2008-03-13). No St. Pat's Day Mass allowed in Holy Week (English). Dubuque Telegraph Herald. Woodward Communications, Inc.. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
  5. ^ a b Hajela, Deepti, Associated Press article, March 18, 2008, New York City dateline ("The parade typically draws 2 million spectators and 150,000 marchers [...] New York boasts the nation's largest parade [...]")
  6. ^ St. Patrick's Day Parades Roundup, 2005. The Wild Geese Today. Retrieved on 2008-03-03.
  7. ^ Whispers in the Loggia - Indult Scorecard, Master List March 14, 2006
  8. ^ Whispers In The Loggia - St Pat's, Advanced July 24, 2007
  9. ^ [1] "St. Patrick's Day: Fact vs. Fiction" (Bridget Haggerty, author of The Traditional Irish Wedding and the Web site "Irish Culture and Customs", speaks to National Geographic News)
  10. ^ [2] Holiday has history
  11. ^ The History of St. Patrick's Day. 'Ottawa Plus. Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
  12. ^ Humphry's Family Tree - James O'Mara
  13. ^ "The History of the Holiday." History Channel. (URL accessed March 15, 2006)
  14. ^ St. Patrick's Day. St. Patrick's Festival. Retrieved on 2007-07-21.
  15. ^ BBC News | NORTHERN IRELAND | St Patrick's day parade refused funding
  16. ^ Saint Patrick´s Day in Argentina.
  17. ^ video of Saint Patrick´s Day in Argentina-youtube.
  18. ^ Clarín newspaper.
  19. ^ The Guardian.
  20. ^ The Irish Times special report.
  21. ^ Don Pidgeon (2007-07-03). Montreal's Saint Patrick's Day Parade: History. United Irish Societies of Montreal.
  22. ^ BBC News - The day the world turns green March 14, 1998
  23. ^ Connecting Histories - St Patrick's Day Parade
  24. ^ Manchester Irish Festival
  25. ^ Die St. Patricks Day Parade 2008. 'ganz-muenchen.de'. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
  26. ^ DIF Bayern. 'D.I.F. Bayern e.V.'. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
  27. ^ St. Patrick's Day Munich - Messages of Greeting. 'D.I.F. Bayern e.V.'. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
  28. ^ a b Citizens Can Enjoy St. Patrick's Day. 'The Korea Times'. Retrieved on 2008-03-18.
  29. ^ a b Johnson, Bridget (17 March, 2006). 17 March, 2007"Lucky for the Irish". National Review Online.
  30. ^ a b "Saint Patrick’s Day". Encarta (URL accessed 19 March, 2007)
  31. ^ "March 17, 1756 in History." Brainy History. (URL accessed 17 March, 2006)
  32. ^ BBC - h2g2 - St Patrick's Day
  33. ^ MSN - View of Celebrations of St. Patricks Day in the U.S.
  34. ^ Kunz, Virginia Brainard. Saint Paul: The First One Hundred and Fifty Years. Bookmen, p.33. ISBN 0-9630690-0-4. 
  35. ^ "History of Pittsburgh's St. Patrick's Day Parade." (URL accessed October 5, 2006)
  36. ^ Savannah, Georgia - Saint Patrick's Day Celebration
  37. ^ St. Patrick's Day causing Catholic dilemma - CNN.com
  38. ^ Careaga, Andrew (Winter 2007). Go ask Alice? We would if we could. UMR Magazine Vol. 81 No. 4. mst.edu.
  39. ^ "The Official Site of The Boston Red Sox: News: Boston Red Sox News" (URL accessed 29 March, 2007)
  40. ^ "The Official Site of Major League Baseball: News: Major League Baseball News" (URL accessed 29 March, 2007)
  41. ^ Dodgers Auctions - LA Dodger's St. Patrick's Day Jersey
  42. ^ "St. Patrick's Day on Yahoo! News Photos" (URL accessed 29 March, 2007)
  43. ^ "The Official Site of The St. Louis Cardinals: News: St. Louis Cardinals News" (URL accessed 29 March, 2007)
  44. ^ "MLB.com shop" (URL accessed 29 March, 2007)
Books
  • Todd, J. H. (1864). St. Patrick, apostle of Ireland; a memoir of his life and mission, with an introductory dissertation on some early usages of the church in Ireland, and its historical position from the establishment of the English colony to the present day. Dublin: Hodges, Smith & Co.
Websites



BCUZ.com FACTS Encyclopedia content is licensed under the GFDL as approved by Wikipedia.
For more information review our copyright contact and privacy policy.
© 1996 - BCUZ.COM - We have all the FACTS you need about Small Business Financing, Behavior Disorder, Having Too Many Bills, Needing Cash Fast, Structured Settlements, Frequent Flier Programs, Top Steak Houses, The Mayan Indians, Norfolk and Suffolk England, Growing Longer Hair and a full reference English Encyclopedia and Spanish Encyclopedia.Privacy Policy