Everything you need to know about St. Patrick's Day
From its possible Hispanic roots in the U.S. to parades to look out for in 2025.
St. Patrick's Day in Boston
Every March 17, the United States turns green. Pipers, dancers, marching bands, ordinary citizens, organizing volunteers; millions of Americans take to the streets to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. At VOZ, we compiled the keys to celebrate in style on St. Patrick's Day 2025.
Who was St. Patrick?
St. Patrick was not Irish. Christened Maewyn Succat, he was born between 385 and 392 in what is now Wales, but was then part of the Roman province of Britannia. Most of what is known of his life comes from his own writings.
When he was about 15 years old, he was kidnapped by Irish pirates and sold into slavery. Forced to work as a shepherd, he cultivated his faith: "In a single day I recited one hundred prayers, and at night almost as many. I prayed in the woods and mountains, even before the dawn," he would later write according to Vatican News.
According to his own account, a premonition avenged in a dream helped him escape after years of servitude and reunite with his family. Another, years later, led him to the decision to live a holy life with the mission to evangelize Ireland, whose population practiced a local polytheistic religion.
He was bishop of Ireland for 40 years. Despite initial difficulties, including an assassination attempt and two months of captivity, he succeeded in converting thousands of Irish people, for which he is considered the father of Christianity in the country.
An Irish, American and global holiday
Dubai, Singapore, Australia, Argentina, Russia... the United States. The annual celebration of St. Patrick's Day transcended Irish borders, encouraged by the emigration of its population. So much so that the it is said, "Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day."
The date of the first St. Patrick's Day parade on American soil is a matter of dispute. One version assures that it was in New York in 1762. Another claims it was in 1737 in Boston. Yet another points to the old Spanish fort in St. Augustine, Fla., and places the date in 1601. All predate the independence of the United States.
Although not a national holiday, over time it became an increasingly American holiday. Even George Washington marked it on the calendar: in 1780 he declared it a day of rest for the fatigued troops of the Continental Army, with the aim of boosting morale.
Another American trademark is the typical meal. The tradition of eating canned corned beef and cabbage began in the United States because it was more accessible to the budget of the deprived Irish immigrants than the ham which usually accompanied cabbage in their homeland.
On U.S. soil, the day also dropped some of its religious significance. According to experts, Ireland later adopted some of the secular motifs introduced on the American continent, such as parades.
Hispanic beginnings of St. Patrick's Day?
Francis claims to have read Spanish colonial records showing that at the Spanish fort of St. Augustine, in what is now Florida, a procession was held in the saint's name, which would have been accompanied with an image of him, as well as food, drink, music and cannon fire. He was designated protector of corn.
"It is likely that Richard Arthur was responsible for the Irish saint’s short-lived prominence in St. Augustine," the historian explains in a column for PBS. Called Father Richard Arthur there, he had been an Irish soldier. When the military-turned-religious soldier disappears from the records, so does the Irish patron saint.
"As I close this bundle of documents and return its pages to their protective case, it is difficult not to contemplate the fact that the first recorded St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the United States did not occur in Boston or New York," Francis wrote.
"Rather, those who first gathered to venerate St. Patrick and process through city streets included a blend of Spaniards, Africans, Native Americans, Portuguese, a French surgeon, a German fifer, and at least two Irishmen, who marched together in honor of the Irish saint."
Parades not to be missed
While marching bands, bagpipers, leprechauns and Irish dancing can be enjoyed across the country every year, some cities manage to stand out with identifying features.
One Illinois tradition manages to get all the attention: the Chicago River is dyed green. The tradition began in 1962, when, as a celebration, the Chicago Plumbers Local Union poured bright green dye into its waters, normally used to detect leaks in pipes. Heirs of those same innovators continue the tradition to this day.
In New York, volunteers hold one of the oldest (or as they proudly claim themselves, the oldest) parades. One of the largest in the country, some New Yorkers claim it is also the most popular in the world.
Another parade that gets the spotlight is Boston's, also said to be the oldest in the country. There, the celebrations serve as a dual commemoration: the same day is remembered as Evacuation Day, when British troops abandoned the city in 1776. The county of Suffolk celebrates the latter as an official holiday.
Two other processions to take into account are those of Savannah, Ga., (its organizers say it is the third largest, after those of New York and Chicago), and that of Philadelphia, one of the most traditional.
Symbols of St. Patrick's Day
The leprechaun comes from Irish folklore. The word comes from the Old Irish luchorpan, and means "little body," according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. It was a spirit "in the form of a tiny old man often with a cocked hat and leather apron. ... He possesses a hidden crock of gold; if captured and threatened with bodily violence, he might, if his captor keeps his eyes on him, reveal its hiding place," it adds.
The clover owes its origin to St. Patrick himself. According to tradition, when preaching, he explained a religious concept called the holy trinity with a shamrock, to symbolize that its three leaves are part of the same herb (as God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are both three separate figures and one god). Effigies of the bishop often portray him with a shamrock.
A four-leaf clover, considered a symbol of good fortune because it is less common than the three-leaf clover, is also often seen.
Green has a closer, political root. Irishmen protesting against the British Empire adopted the color as a badge to distinguish themselves from blue, considered until then the Irish identity color. Despite the failure of the revolution organized by them in 1798, green stuck as a symbol as British rule continued.
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