St. Patrick's Day: 5 interesting facts and celebrations around the world

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated around the world, almost everywhere there’s an Irish population. But not everyone knows the origins of this famously lively holiday, or who Saint Patrick actually was.

Below, we’ll be taking a closer look at St. Patrick’s Day, to find out more about the celebration and its interesting history. We’ll even look at some popular traditions and celebrations around the world, along with a few fascinating facts that not a lot of people know.

So, let’s get started by focusing on the man himself - Saint Patrick.

Who was St. Patrick?

Today, St. Patrick is known as the patron saint of Ireland and Northern Ireland. All of the other nations of the UK have their own patron saint. For example, the patron saint of England is St. George and in Wales, it’s St. David.

Saint Patrick himself is believed to have lived during the fifth century, having been born in Roman Britain. He was apparently kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave when he was 16, although he escaped or was released. He later became a priest and went back to Ireland as a missionary, where he was credited for spreading the message of Christianity throughout the country.¹

Following his death, a number of fascinating myths and legends have emerged about St. Patrick. This includes the story of the saint banishing all the snakes from Ireland, which historians claim simply isn’t true. Besides anything else, there weren’t any snakes in Ireland at the time.²

Other myths claim that St. Patrick explained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) using the three leaves of an Irish Clover, famously known as the Shamrock.

When is St. Patrick’s Day?

St. Patrick’s Day is held annually on 17th March. This is believed to be the day that St. Patrick died, although many people mistakenly believed it’s the date of the saint’s birthday.

Although of course, the day of the week it falls upon is different every year.

To help you plan your upcoming celebrations, here’s a look at the St. Patrick’s Day dates for the next few years:

5 interesting facts about St. Patrick’s Day

Now, here are some lesser-known facts about St. Patrick’s Day, some of which may surprise you:

1: Blue used to be the official colour of St. Patrick’s Day, not green³

We’re used to the colour green being used to mark St. Patrick’s Day, but this only became associated with the holiday in 1798 - the year of the Irish Rebellion. Before this, the main colour linked to St. Patrick’s Day was blue, featuring on ancient Irish flags and in the royal court.

2: St. Patrick wasn’t Irish, and Patrick wasn’t his real name³

St. Patrick was born in Britain as Maewyn Succat, later changing his name to Patrick when he became a priest. This comes from Patricius, which is a latin term for ‘father figure’.

3: The first St. Patrick’s Day parade was held in Florida, USA²

While it's true that St. Patrick’s Day has been celebrated in Ireland since the 1600s, the first official parade to mark the day was held in the US. Records show that it took place on 17th March 1601, in a Spanish colony in what we now know as St. Augustine, Florida.

4: St. Patrick’s Day used to be a dry holiday³

As it was originally a religious holiday in Ireland, pubs along with all other establishments were shut down for the day. This law was appealed in the late 20th century. Since then, a marketing push by beer brands has led to the association of St. Patrick’s Day with drinking and revelry.

5: The city of Chicago has dyed its river green in honour of St. Patrick’s Day for the last 60 years⁴

Every year since 1962, the Chicago River has been dyed bright green for St. Patrick’s Day - quite a sight to behold. The tradition was reportedly started by plumbers, who were using a green dye to identify leaks in pipes. Feeling festive, they decided to use 100 pounds of the dye in the river, turning it green for a whole week. The dye used today is reportedly vegetable-based and non-toxic.

Why do we wear green on St. Patrick’s Day?

As we mentioned above, the most common colour associated with St. Patrick’s Day used to be blue. This all changed with the Irish Revolution in 1798. This is when the Irish chose to wear green in contrast to the red colours of the British.³

Ever since, green has been the official colour of St. Patrick’s Day, in everything from clothing and hats to decorations. To many people, it feels like a natural fit as Ireland is often called ‘the Emerald Isle’.

St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations around the world

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world, especially where there is a large Irish population. This includes the UK and Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia. Although you may also encounter St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in destinations as far away from Ireland as Japan and Singapore.

The US tends to have the biggest and most extravagant St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. This includes the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade, believed to be the largest of its kind in the world.

In Ireland itself, there are usually a large number of festivals and parades taking place across the country to mark the occasion. This includes the St Patrick's Day Festival Kilkenny, Limerick St Patrick's Festival and Dublin St Patrick’s Day Festival.

If you’re visiting one of these destinations for St. Patrick’s Day, make sure to take the Wise international debit card with you. It automatically converts your money to the local currency at the mid-market exchange rate, for a small conversion fee. This means you can buy a round of drinks in EUR, GBP, USD or whatever else the local currency may be.

Join Wise today

Please see the Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise fees & pricing for the most up-to-date information on pricing and fees.

Sources used:

Sources last checked on date: 09-Apr-2023