March 17 — St. Patrick's Day: the history and traditions of the green holiday

St. Patrick's Day is the national holiday of Ireland, dedicated to the patron saint of the country. However, it is celebrated not only in his native country — parades, festivals and concerts in the best Irish traditions are held all over the world. Read about who St. Patrick is and what customs are associated with his celebration in the Izvestia article.

St. Patrick's Day in 2025 — what date

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated every year at the same time — on March 17th. This date is a public holiday in Ireland, Northern Ireland, on the island of Montserrat (Lesser Antilles), as well as in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. In some regions, celebrations last for several days.

Who is St. Patrick?

Virtually nothing is known for certain about St. Patrick. According to the most popular version, he was born at the end of the fourth century into a noble Romano-British family. In the world, the future preacher's name was Mavin Sukkat. When the young man turned 16, he was abducted by pirates and taken to Ireland as a slave.

The young man spent several years in captivity. During this time, he converted to Christianity and began to pray regularly, asking God to return him to his homeland. One night, an angel appeared to Sukkat and showed him the way to salvation — a ship sailing to Gaul. On board this vessel, the young man escaped from his captors.

After being released, Sukkat began studying theology and soon became a clergyman. Subsequently, he took monastic vows under the name Patrick. After rising to the rank of bishop, he returned to Ireland to preach Christianity to the local population.

There are many legends connected with the missionary activity of St. Patrick. The main opponents of Christianity on the island were the Druids— the Celtic priests. Wanting to prove that their magic is stronger than faith in God, they filled the fields with snow in the middle of summer. The saint asked the sorcerers to remove the snowdrifts so that the cold would not destroy the crops, but they just waved them off. Then the bishop crossed the fields, and the snow evaporated.

Another time, the druids drank a whole bucket of milk from the bull in front of the amazed people. Patrick, who came to see this, crossed the bucket, and it became obvious that it was not milk in it, but mucus and blood. The bull was near death, but the saint saved him by prayer. Another legend says that the bishop banished all snakes from Ireland, along with their patron, the god of fertility, who was depicted as a serpent. It is noteworthy that these reptiles are really not found on the island.

Nevertheless, scientists still cannot say with certainty who St. Patrick really was. The main source of biographical information about him is the "Confession", allegedly written by the preacher himself. However, its original has not been preserved, and the authenticity of the earliest list from 603 remains in question. Some researchers believe that Patrick, who was abducted by pirates, and Patrick, who arrived in Ireland as a missionary, are different people whose stories are mixed. Others believe that the bishop never existed, and his biography is a compilation of folk legends.

Anyway, for ordinary Irish people, Patrick remains a revered saint and the patron saint of the state. His holiday, celebrated on March 17th, is always held on a grand scale and invariably attracts tens of thousands of people.

St. Patrick's Day on March 17, 2025 — the history of the holiday

St. Patrick's Day in Ireland began to be celebrated in the 9th–10th centuries. Initially, it was an exclusively ecclesiastical celebration — in the 17th century it was officially included in the liturgical calendar. Catholics on this day were advised to attend church services and spend the evening with their family.

The modern version of the holiday with noisy festivities originated in the USA, where there were many Irish immigrants. In 1761-1762, they held the first St. Patrick's Day parades. The local residents enjoyed the celebration, and the number of participants grew every year. Over time, it began to be celebrated in other countries: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina.

St. Patrick's Day came to his "homeland", Ireland, only in 1903. Then March 17 was officially declared a national holiday and a non-working day. The first parade in Dublin took place in 1931, 10 years after Ireland gained independence from Great Britain.

In the 1990s, the Irish leadership began to use St. Patrick's Day as an excuse to promote Irish culture within the country and in the world. For this purpose, a large-scale festival was organized, accompanied by an active advertising campaign. The image of the bishop, as well as his attributes — green clothes, a shamrock, a staff — have become peculiar national brands.

St. Patrick's Day Traditions

For Irish Catholics, St. Patrick's Day remains primarily a religious holiday. In the morning, believers attend services in churches. Some of them go on a pilgrimage to Crow Patrick Mountain, where, according to legend, the bishop spent 40 days in prayer and fasting, being attacked by demons. As a result, he managed to seal the evil spirits in the cave, where they still languish.

Other places associated with the saint are also popular: Armagh Monastery, allegedly founded by Patrick in 444, the town of Downpatrick, where, according to legend, the bishop is buried, and Cashel Castle, where the missionary allegedly baptized the Irish king Angus.

The secular population of Ireland celebrates St. Patrick's Day on a grand scale. Parades, concerts, theatrical performances, festivals and other events are held in the cities. When going out, people wear green clothes or add a green accessory to their look. This color is considered one of the symbols of the holiday.

Another obligatory element of the celebration is a shamrock. It can be seen everywhere: on clothes, posters, decorations, flyers, tickets, etc. Sweets are baked in the form of this plant, and it is also added to drinks as an ornament. According to legend, using the example of three clover leaves growing on one stalk, St. Patrick explained the concept of the Trinity to the pagans.

At parades and costume parties on the holiday, you can meet people in leprechaun costumes. These are mythological creatures living in the forest, which are considered the keepers of treasures. You can recognize them by their green caps, red sideburns, and small stature. According to legend, if you catch a leprechaun, he will show you the way to the treasure or grant you a wish.

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day is not complete without beer. Pubs and restaurants in Ireland are taking advantage of the opportunity to sell as much of this drink as possible, offering new flavors, various promotions and contests. At the same time, until the 1960s, there was a law in force in the country prohibiting the consumption of alcohol on a holiday, since due to the postponement of the date of Easter, it often fell on Lent. However, it is now believed that on his day, St. Patrick makes allowances for believers by allowing them to eat meat, have fun and drink alcohol.

Earlier, Izvestia told about the history of Thanksgiving in the United States and shared interesting facts about this holiday.