Every year on March 17, America wears green and goes out to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. We participate in parades, festivals, and a lot of drinking. Even though it’s considered an Irish holiday, we’ve taken their old customs and traditions and have made it entirely our own.  

Before it was a holiday, it was a story about a man named Patrick, who was not even from Ireland. In the fifth century, Patrick was captured from Roman Britain, the territory of Britain that was conquered by the Romans under Emperor Claudius in AD 43.  

Patrick was brought to Ireland and enslaved at age 16 for six years before escaping. He returned home to his family and decided to devote his life to the Christian faith. After he became a priest, he returned to Ireland where he spent the rest of his life speaking the gospel and converting the Irish to Christianity.  

Since his death, Ireland has celebrated their patron saint every year even though he was never officially recognized as a saint.  

It was when the Irish immigrated to America that they brought their culture and traditions, including the religious holiday.  

The first St. Patrick’s Day celebration in America was in 1762 in New York City. With the increase of Irish immigrants during the 19th and 20th centuries, the holiday evolved and became what we know it as today.  

Since becoming a holiday celebrated by Americans, it has since become a less religious holiday and more of a celebration of dressing in green, wearing shamrocks, and drinking green beer.  

Cities with a high number of Irish Americans like Chicago or New York City have been known for going above and beyond. For the last almost 70 years, Chicago has dyed the Chicago River temporarily green. People could take boat tours on the freshly green river while drinking, eating Irish cuisine and live music.  

The city is also known for having the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade every year in the country.  

The celebration did not stop in the large cities, however. In Springfield, MO, locals have been able to participate in festivities all week.  

On Sat. March 16, downtown was packed with people of all ages commemorating the holiday. There was live music, souvenir carts for those not wearing enough green, a pet contest and it ended with a two-hour parade.  

The parade consisted of local businesses and organizations decorating their cars, trailers, and motorcycles driving through the heart of Springfield. The sidewalks were filled with people watching, yelling at people in the parade they recognized and kids catching candy being thrown at them.  

On Sunday March 17, there was the opportunity to go to different Irish pubs to drink at 11 a.m. and listen to live Irish music. Springfield Brewing Company also was open where people could enjoy live bagpipe music while enjoying their favorite local brews.