An Irish-American Tradition: St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on Monday, March 17. Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, where his death has been celebrated for over 1,000 years. Traditionally, the St. Patrick’s celebration offered an opportunity to break from the Lent period. You can read more about Saint Patrick here. However, many Americans in the U.S. who aren’t Irish or Christian celebrate this holiday culturally. Why is the holiday so popular in the United States?

J. & R. Lamb Studios, Designer. Design drawing for stained glass window showing St Patrick with shamrock, crook, snakes, arch, cross, and Bible. , None. [Between 1857 and 1999] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016676726/.

A lot of this has to do with the history of immigration in the United States. In the 18th and 19th centuries, increasing waves of Irish immigrants immigrated into the United States. This helps to explain why the first St. Patrick’s day parade was held over a decade before the Declaration of Independence was signed. Over the centuries, Irish immigrants and Irish-Americans amassed increasing political power. Various Irish societies and organizations held their own parades until 1851, when several Irish assistance groups united in New York to hold an official St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City. Large parades and annual celebrations are also held in Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, and Savannah. The New York City Parade, however, is one of the world’s oldest civilian parades and remains one of the largest parades in the United States. Slowly but surely, St. Patrick’s day became an important American cultural holiday, in addition to its religious origin.

Culturally, traditions include:

Participating in Parades. Tomorrow is Knoxville’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade! If you’re interested, check it out (and bring an umbrella): https://knoxstpatricksparade.com/

Attending Irish theater and music performances. On Sunday, the Clayton Center for the Arts is hosting A Taste of Ireland. Get your tickets before they are sold out!

In Chicago, they even dye the river green each year!

Wear green clothing to avoid getting pinched by leprechauns!

Attending St. Patrick’s day gatherings and dinners.

Eating traditional Irish-American food like corned beef and cabbage. If you don’t eat beef, a Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie or some Irish Soda Bread always does the trick.

See more St. Patrick’s Day Recipes here: https://cooking.nytimes.com/search?q=St.%20Patrick%27s%20Day

You’ll also see shamrocks and all things green decorating households and businesses during this time.

Enjoy the rest of your Spring Break, and don’t forget to observe how Americans observe this holiday in different parts of the US!

An Aside: What is Daylight Savings Time?

This week, Americans jumped one hour ahead to enter Daylight Savings Time. This tradition is increasingly debated, as the nation considers its relevance in today’s society. Some argue it disrupts our natural sleep cycle, while others are concerned by the alternative. Read more about the different arguments here.

Believe it or not, this tradition is over a century old! In 1918, the U.S. Congress passed The Standard Time Act. President Woodrow Wilson signed the act into law a few days later, creating the yearly tradition we still observe today. While the exact days of the shift have changed over the years, each Spring/Summer, this gives most U.S. residents one extra hour of sunlight to enjoy. Conversely, those observing the shift receive an extra hour of sleep in the winter as residents set their clocks back an hour as we dive into the winter months. In a move to standardize U.S. time zones and improve transportation, the Uniform Time Act of 1966 also included a requirement to include Daylight Savings Time. Daylight Saving Time (DST) was enacted as a legal requirement within existing U.S. time zones by the Uniform Time Act in 1966.

However, not all places in the U.S. follow this tradition. While state governments cannot deny the act, they can exempt themselves by acting independently and refusing to observe Daylight Savings Time. As such, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and most of Arizona do not observe Daylight Savings Time. If you’re making travel plans to any of these locations, keep an eye on your time!

Sources

Daylight Savings Time Sources

photos sourced form pixabay

https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-daylight-saving

https://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/daylight_time

https://www.bts.gov/explore-topics-and-geography/geography/geospatial-portal/history-time-zones-and-daylight-saving

https://www.colorado.edu/coloradan/2022/11/07/history-daylight-saving-time

https://www.npr.org/2024/03/08/1235811935/daylight-saving-time-change-2024

https://www.transportation.gov/regulations/time-act#:~:text=Federal%20oversight%20of%20time%20zones,in%20the%20continental%20United%20States.

St. Patrick’s Day Sources

photos sourced from pixabay

https://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/who-was-saint-patrick