Saint Patrick's Day. 17th March, 2016

A traditional celebration in Ireland and others countries!!

St. Patrick's Day or the Feast of St. Patrick is observed on March 17 as a religious and cultural celebration. It honors Ireland's patron St. Patrick. The date marks the traditional death of the saint. In the early 17th century, it was made an official Christian feast day observed by the Church of Ireland, the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and Lutheran Church.

Celebration\ Observance

The day honors Saint Patrick and Christianity in Ireland. It also celebrates the culture and heritage of the Irish population. People wear green attire and attend parades and festivals. Church services are attended. Restrictions on drinking alcohol and eating are lifted on this day. This led to its propagating tradition of alcohol consumption. Irish food and parties are celebrated in pubs. Water was even dyed green in the Chicago River in 2005. Symbols include the shamrock, anything green, Irish beer, and the leprechaun.

History

Saint Patrick was believed to be born in the fourth century in Roman Britain to a wealthy family. At age 16, he was kidnapped and taken as a slave to Gaelic Ireland. There, working as a shepherd, he "found God." Patrick found his way home and eventually became a Christian missionary and bishop. He returned to Ireland to convert the people to Christianity. He died March 17. He became Ireland's prominent saint.

New Orleans. LA  ( The U.S.A.)

St. Patrick’s Day isn’t just one day in New Orleans; here, it’s turned it into a multi-week celebration with parades, block parties and plenty of corned beef and cabbage.

Irish History in New Orleans

New Orleans is known for its French influence and Spanish culture, but the Irish have left their thumbprint on the city too.

Dating back to the seventeenth century, the Irish immigrated to the United States in search of a better life for themselves and their families. Many of these immigrants ended up in South Louisiana. During the 1830’s, the Irish were the labor that built the New Basin Canal, a shipping canal that connected Uptown with Lake Pontchartrain. Depending on whose records are most accurate, somewhere between 4,000 and 30,000 Irish workers died from yellow fever while building that canal. Many of those who were lucky enough to survive settled into an area south of Magazine Street that became known as the Irish Channel, and they worked at the nearby Port of New Orleans.

That Irish heritage, as well as all Irish history and culture in general, is celebrated every March 17 with parties and parades throughout New Orleans.

Beads are thrown from carriages as the 34^th annual Jim Monaghan’s St. Patrick’s Day parade rolls down Decatur Street on its trip through the French Quarter on Friday, March 11, 2016. The Times-Picayune