St Patrick's Day
Happy St Patrick's day folks! We all dress up, drink up and celebrate on this day, but few of us know the tale behind the day, so we bring you a little history before the party.
Who was St Patrick?
St Patrick is the patron saint of Irelant. He was born in the 5th century in Roman Britain and was kidnapped at the age of 16 to work as a slave in Ireland. At some point he successfully escaped, but later came back to Ireland and was deemed to have brought Christianity there.
One of the most famous mythological tales surrounding St Patrick is that he explained the Holy Trinity- Father, Son and Holy Spirit, using the 3 leaves of the Irish clover.
The Irish in America
Most of the Irish folks in America in the mid-19th century were members of the Protestant middle class. 1845 marked the beginning of the Great Potato Famine in Ireland, leading to lots of its natives to escape to the U.S. as a means to fight the hunger and find better prospects.
During St Patrick's Day, the Irish community went out on the streets, celebrating their holiday with a parade. As the tradition was alien and unfamiliar to the Americans, the local U.S. newspapers portrayed the Irish in cartoons, as drunken monkeys.
Despite this portayal, the American Irish understood that due to their large numbers, they held strong political power. Their voting bloc, named as 'green machine' helped them execute their rights and re-establish their image. During the time of these political movements and efforts, St Patrick's Day became a must-attend parade and a show of strength.
In 1948, President Harry S. Truman attended the St Patrick's parade, which was a huge milestone and acknolwedgement for the Irish Americans, whose ancestors had to fight hard against prejudices and judgement in order to get a respected seat at the table.
The Chicago River Dying
It's interesting to note that the first ever St Patrick's day was celebrated NOT in Ireland, but in America. The records show it was first celebrated in 1601 in St Augustine, Florida. After that, the celebrationg started taking place in the other states too with some making their own traditions. Such is the Chicago annual river dying, which first started in 1962. Accidentally city pollution-control workers discovered that the green dye could be a great fit for the occassion, prior using it only to trace illegal discharge in the river. The first release had 100 pounds of green dye, released into the river, that colored it for a week. Nowadays, due to environmental considerations, the river only holds 40 pounds that keep it colored for a few hours.
Will there be a NYC parade this year?
Yes, the annual parade will take place on 17th March at precisely 11am, starting at East 44th street and ending at East 79th street.
As ever, don't forget that if you need any assistance with booking a NYC experience you can contact our team at - (347) 746 - 8687 or on info@centralparktours.net