St. Patrick's Day: 17 March

St. Patrick's Day commemorates Saint Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland, who spread the word of Christianity until his death on 17 March 461 AD. Also called the Feast of St. Patrick, it is a cultural and religious celebration. In 1903, St Patrick’s Day became an official public holiday in Ireland. From 1878 until 1955, St. Patrick’s Day was also a public holiday in New Zealand.

Nowadays, St. Patrick's Day is also used to celebrate all things Irish with food, drink (usually Guinness stout), music, dancing, other forms of entertainment, and the wearing of green clothing and shamrocks.

The 17 March is also a special occasion for those whose birthday falls on this date. Happy birthday to your family and friends named Patricia, Pat, Patty, Paddy and Patrick, and to others born on this day!  Enjoy your Irish pub breakfast and other activities - to be sure, to be sure!  May the luck of the Irish be with you!

Bring out your green for St. Patrick's Day!

The green of the Irish flag is the official colour for St. Patrick's Day. (See Wikipedia: Flag of Ireland.)  The using of the colour green with Ireland had evolved over time since the colour blue was used by King George III after declaring the Kingdom of Ireland in 1542. He had created a new order of chivalry, the Order of Saint Patrick, and used the colour blue of the robe worn by Saint Patrick. During the 1780s, blue was adopted as the colour of the newly formed Anglo-Irish order of St. Patrick. 

Why green:

• Irish flag:  In the 1640s the green harp flag was used by the Irish Catholic Confederation. Later in 1848, a tricolour flag – green, orange and white – was presented to the Irish nationalist leader Thomas Francis Meaghe of the Young Irelanders by a group of French women when he was visiting France. The colours symbolised the longed-for union between the Roman Catholics, represented by the green colour, and the Protestants who were followers of William of Orange, represented by orange, and peace between the two, represented by the white colour. Late in April 1916, both flags were flown during the Easter Rising between Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the tricolour more widely used. When the Irish constitution came into law later in 1937, the tricolour was confirmed as the official national flag of Ireland.

• Green shamrock became Ireland's national symbol: During late 18th century, the Society of United Irish and other Irish militia began adopting the green shamrock (a three-leafed clover) as an emblem which led to it becoming a national symbol. Saint Patrick was said to have used the shamrock as a metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity with each leaf representing the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The three leaves are also said to symbolise faith, hope and love, whereas a four-leaf clover symbolises good luck. After the Acts of Union in 1800, when Ireland officially became a part of the United Kingdom, the shamrock was incorporated into the United Kingdom’s official royal coat of arms, alongside the English rose and Scottish thistle.

• Emerald Isle: Ireland also became known as the Emerald Isle due to its green countryside. Those words were first mentioned in a poem by William Drennan, entitled “When Erin First Rose” (1795).

• Leprechauns: Green is also the colour of the Irish fairy called the leprechaun who is depicted as wearing a green hat and clothes. Folklore says wearing green makes you invisible to leprechauns who like to pinch anyone they can see. (See: National Geographic Kids: St. Patrick's Day.)  If you catch one, legend also has it that you will be granted three wishes.

St. Patrick's Day celebrations

St. Patrick's Day was originally celebrated in Ireland with religious services and feasts in honour of St. Patrick. Gradually, St. Patrick's Day shifted from a religious observation to a secular celebration of Irish heritage. The earliest known St. Patrick’s celebration of Irish culture was held in 1600 by Irish immigrants in St. Augustine, Florida who also held a parade the following year on 17 March. Later in 1631, the Catholic Church established a Feast Day on 17 March honouring St. Patrick. Since 1903, St Patrick’s Day has been an official public holiday in Ireland. From 1878 until 1955, St. Patrick’s Day was a public holiday in NZ. Nowadays, it is a celebration of Irish culture throughout NZ without a day off work. You can search websites (eg Eventfinda  and Allevents) to see what upcoming St. Patrick's Day celebrations have been promoted in various locations around NZ.

Irish sayings to use

For more Irish sayings, see https://irisharoundtheworld.com/irish-sayings/

Irish music to sing to & DAnce along with

works by Irish writers - SONGS, poems, plays & Books

You can also celebrate St. Patrick's Day by reading poetry out loud, enacting plays and reading novels by Irish writers.

Inventions & DISCOVERIES by the Irish

Irish inventions and discoveries include.

• John Gregg - Gregg Shorthand
• Robert Manning – Origin of the Manning Equation for describing water flow in channels
• Robert Boyle – Father of chemistry
• Francis Beaufort – Beaufort scale for indicating wind force
• George Boole – Boolean algebra.
• George Stoney – Introduced the idea of the electron
• John Tyndall – Why is the sky blue?
• Lord Kelvin – The Kelvin scale:  Set “infinite cold” to zero.

For an overview of other inventions, see Wikipedia: Timeline of Irish inventions and discoveries.

St. PAtrick's Day moments Depicted by CartoonISTS 

Find out more: Our Irish connection

              May the luck of the Irish be with you!

Find out more:

• History.com: St. Patrick's Day, URL: https://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day

• National Geographic Kids: St. Patrick's Day, URL: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/celebrations/article/st-patricks-day

• Wikipedia: Saint Patrick's Day, URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Day

This DigitalNZ story was updated in March 2024