A HISTORY OF ST. PATRICK's DAY
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated onMarch 17, the saint’s religious feast day and the anniversary of his death inthe fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday forover 1,000 years. On St. Patrick’s Day, which falls during the Christian seasonof Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning andcelebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meatwere waived and people would dance, drink and feast–on the traditional meal ofIrish bacon and cabbage.
ST. PATRICK AND THE FIRST ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE
Saint Patrick, who lived duringthe fifth century, is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. Born inRoman Britain, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of16. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland and was credited with bringingChristianity to its people. In the centuries following Patrick’s death(believed to have been on March 17, 461), the mythology surrounding his lifebecame ever more ingrained in the Irish culture: Perhaps the most wellknown legend is that he explained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and HolySpirit) using the three leaves of a native Irish clover, the shamrock.
Since around the ninth or 10thcentury, people in Ireland have been observing the Roman Catholic feast day ofSt. Patrick on March 17. Interestingly, however, the first parade held to honorSt. Patrick’s Day took place not in Ireland but in the United States. On March17, 1762, Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City. Along with their music, theparade helped the soldiers reconnect with their Irish roots, as well as withfellow Irishmen serving in the English army.
GROWTH OF ST. PATRICK’S DAYCELEBRATIONS
Over the next 35 years, Irishpatriotism among American immigrants flourished, prompting the rise ofso-called “Irish Aid” societies like the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick and theHibernian Society. Each group would hold annual parades featuring bagpipes(which actually first became popular in the Scottish and British armies) anddrums.
In 1848, several New York IrishAid societies decided to unite their parades to form one official New York CitySt. Patrick’s Day Parade. Today, that parade is the world‘s oldest civilianparade and the largest in the United States, with over 150,000 participants.Each year, nearly 3 million people line the 1.5-mile parade route to watch theprocession, which takes more than five hours. Boston,Chicago, Philadelphia and Savannah alsocelebrate the day with parades involving between 10,000 and 20,000 participantseach.
ST. PATRICK’S DAY, NO IRISHNEED APPLY AND THE “GREEN MACHINE”
Up until the mid-19th century,most Irish immigrants in America were members of the Protestant middle class.When the Great Potato Famine hit Ireland in 1845, close to 1 millionpoor and uneducated Irish Catholics began pouring into America to escapestarvation. Despised for their alien religious beliefs and unfamiliar accentsby the American Protestant majority, the immigrants had trouble finding evenmenial jobs. When Irish Americans in the ｃountry’s cities took to the streetson St. Patrick’s Day to celebrate their heritage, newspapers portrayed them incartoons as drunk, violent monkeys.
The American Irish soon began torealize, however, that their large and growing numbers endowed them witha political power that had yet to be exploited. They started to organize, andtheir voting block, known as the “green machine,” became an important swingvote for political hopefuls. Suddenly, annual St. Patrick’s Day parades becamea show of strength for Irish Americans, as well as a must-attend event for aslew of political candidates. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman attended NewYork City ‘s St. Patrick’s Day parade, a proud moment for the many IrishAmericans whose ancestors had to fight stereotypes and racial prejudiceto find acceptance in the New World.
THE CHICAGO RIVER ON ST.PATRICK’S DAY
As Irish immigrants spread outover the United States, other cities developed their own traditions. One ofthese is Chicago’s annual dyeing of the Chicago River green. The practicestarted in 1962, when city pollution-control workers used dyes to trace illegalsewage discharges and realized that the green dye might provide a unique way tocelebrate the holiday. That year, they released 100 pounds of green vegetabledye into the river–enough to keep it green for a week! Today, in order to minimizeenvironmental damage, only 40 pounds of dye are used, and the river turns greenfor only several hours.
Although Chicago historians claimtheir city’s idea for a river of green was original, some natives of Savannah, Georgia (whose St. Patrick’s Day parade,the oldest in the nation, dates back to 1813) believe the idea originated intheir town. They point out that, in 1961, a hotel restaurant manager named TomWoolley convinced city officials to dye Savannah’s river green. The experimentdidn’t exactly work as planned, and the water only took on a slight greenishhue. Savannah never attempted to dye its river again, but Woolley maintains(though others refute the claim) that he personally suggested the idea toChicago’s Mayor Richard J. Daley.
ST. PATRICK’S DAY AROUND THEWORLD
Today, people of all backgroundscelebrate St. Patrick’s Day, especially throughout the United States, Canadaand Australia. Although North America is home to the largest productions, St.Patrick’s Day is celebrated in many other locations far from Ireland, includingJapan, Singapore and Russia.
In modern-day Ireland, St.Patrick’s Day was traditionally been a religious occasion. In fact, up untilthe 1970s, Irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17. Beginning in1995, however, the Irish government began a national campaign to use interestin St. Patrick’s Day to drive tourism and showcase Ireland and Irish culture tothe rest of the world. Today, approximately 1 million people annually take partin Ireland ‘s St. Patrick’s Festival in Dublin, a multi-day celebrationfeaturing parades, concerts, outdoor theater productions and fireworks shows.
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/history-of-st-patricks-day
Image: http://www.graphics18.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/happystpatdaygarfieldblinks.gif
VOCABULARY:
1. ingrained- firmly fixed or established difficult to change
2.flourished - (of a person) wave (something) around to attract the attention ofothers.
3. famine -extreme scarcity of food.
4. endowed -extreme scarcity of food.
5. prejudice- preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.
DISCUSSION:
1. How muchhave you heard of St. Patrick's Day?
2. Is therea day in Korea that you spend celebrating people who made impact in yourｃountry?
3. What foreigncelebrations do you celebrate in Korea?
4. On whatoccasions do you have parades in your ｃountry?
