St. Patrick’s Day Weekend 2019

March 14, 2019

As with many of the holidays we celebrate today, the traditions of St. Patrick’s Day have little to do with how they were originally intended to be observed. The first St. Patrick’s Day was in 1631 and was commemorated with a Feast in honor of the Patron Saint of Ireland who was credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland in the 400’s. It was meant to be a remembrance of the day St. Patrick died.

In the 1720’s the Church began to realize that the celebration of this holiday had taken a more hedonistic form. It was at this point that the Church selected the Lucky Shamrock as St. Patrick’s botanical item to remind Christians to take the holiday more seriously. They chose the Shamrock because, as St. Patrick was establishing the Christian faith in Ireland, he used the Shamrock to symbolize the Trinity.

St. Patrick's Day 2019, Julie & Co. Realty

It was not until 1798 that the color green became associated with St. Patrick’s Day. This had less to do with the Saint and was actually in honor of the Irish Rebellion. It was in reference to the Irish song, “The Wearing of the Green.” Chicago takes it so far as to dye its River green every St. Patrick’s Day since 1962. The Local Plumber’s Union uses 25 pounds of vegetable-based dye to turn it green for the day.

What are some ways we can celebrate here in Saratoga Springs?

There are events for the whole family and not just on Sunday.