St. Patrick's Celebrations

For many people, when they think of St. Patrick’s Day, the first thing that comes to mind is the color green, festivals, and parades. Some people may not celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in a big way, but many different cultures and places have their own traditional celebrations. The holiday comes from the Irish culture to celebrate and remember one of Ireland’s patron saints, St Patrick. It is a global celebration celebrated on Mar.17.
“I don’t normally celebrate St. Patrick’s day in a big way, I just wear a green clothing item,” Macedonia Flores Vega ‘16 said.
Portland, Oregon will be having a St. Patrick’s Day family festival and an Irish festival. The St. Patrick’s Day family festival will have traditional Irish music, dancing, and food on Mar.17. The Irish Festival will be held from Mar.17 to Mar.19 at Kells Irish Restaurant and Pub, with music, dancing, food, and arts and crafts.
Another festival for Oregonians is the Shamrock Run. 2016 will be the 38th year that the Shamrock Run has been held. The run will start at Waterfront Park in Portland, on Mar.13, and the distances will be 5k, 8k, 15k, and half marathon.
New York City, Boston, and Illinois, all celebrate St.Patrick’s by having a parade. New York City’s parade has been a tradition since 1762, and only allows the appearance of marchers, no floats or automobiles of any kind. The parade is led by a military unit, with it being held for around six hours. Boston, Massachusetts has a parade that has been an ongoing tradition since 1901, being one of the biggest parades. Chicago, Illinois has had their own creative traditions for over 40 years that still occur at their parade. Illinois has been dyeing the Chicago River green, due to the fact that the green used is the same color of greens in Ireland.
“On St. Patrick’s day I just wear green, especially not to get pinch,” Angelika Pavlova ‘18 said.
The International House of Pancakes [IHOP] is also running a special where all shortstacks sold on Mar. 17 are only $1 each.
St.Patrick’s day is celebrated by many communities in a big or small way, people may attend a party celebration, a parade, or by just wearing a clothing item that is green.