Worldwide celebrations… in green!

Since 1762, Irish people around the world have celebrated St. Patrick’s Day. The color green takes pride of place during this national festivity, which commemorates the Christianization of Ireland in the 5th century, by a Scot who had come to evangelize this island; a Scot better known by the name of Saint Patrick.

Legend credits St. Patrick for converting the population of Ireland to Christianity. It was he who taught the concept of the Holy Trinity to the King by using the example of a three leaf clover.

To honor St. Patrick, all Irish people celebrate on March 17, whether they still live in Ireland, are expatriates or descendants of countless emigrants. Even those who have no Irish roots join in the festivities. They take part in parades dressed in green clothes or accessories, eat typically Irish dishes and invade Irish pubs where beer flows in abundance.

In Dublin, the capital of Ireland, the celebrations take the form of a festival spread over several days. However it is New York which holds the biggest St. Patrick’s Day parade on 5th Avenue, passing in front of the cathedral dedicated to St. Patrick. On the other side of the country, the Irish population of San Francisco organizes a huge parade through the streets. A statue of the Patron Saint of Ireland is carried on a float decorated with the national colors of Ireland.

Celebrations also take place in other large American cities, in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe. In Montreal, St. Patrick’s Day is enthusiastically celebrated in the streets where it is also seen as a harbinger of spring.