Instituto Tecnológico Roosevelt la
Villa
Alejandra de Fátima Bautista Sánchez
Ingles
Proyecto Integrador
Andrea Bazán
Agosto 21 - Enero 22
St.
Patrick’
s Day
St. Patrick’s Day observes of the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint
of Ireland. The holiday has evolved into a celebration of Irish culture
with parades, special foods, music, dancing, drinking and a whole lot of
green.
Origin de Saint Patrick’s Day
On March 17, Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated or St. Patrick's Day,
patron saint of Ireland. What began as a religious celebration in
commemoration of his death has become a popular and multitudinous
festival where the color green, clovers and beers are a distinctive part
of the celebration. According to legend, St. Patrick is the boss. Not
only did he bring Christianity to the island, but he made shamrock
(three-leaf clover) fashionable and freed Ireland from snakes.
Who was St. Patrick really?
As things are, he was neither Irish nor his name was Patrick. That does
not mean that it has a very novelesque story or legend.
The Irish patron saint was born in a small Scottish village at the end of
the fourth century and was called Maewyn Succat. According to
legend, he was kidnapped by pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland as
a teenager. He worked as a pastor until he managed to escape to
France and was ordained as a priest with the name of Patricius. At the
age of 46 he decided to return to Ireland to evangelize its inhabitants
and create various schools, churches and monasteries.
St. Patrick became the first person to preach Christianity in Ireland, a
pagan land at the time and which today is the third country with the
most Catholics in the West, behind Italy and Spain. He died on 17
March 461 at Saul, Downpatrick, Northern Ireland. He was officially
regarded as the patron saint of Ireland in 1780 and the feast of St.
Patrick's Day became an iconic date for the Irish.
How did the party come about
Ireland officially began celebrating the day in 1903. Since the emerald
isle is mostly Catholic and St. Patrick's Day usually coincides with Lent,
it traditionally used to be a religious and quiet holiday. The restrictions
of Lent were lifted, giving Christians a break. Basically, you could eat
and drink as much as you wanted, hence the traditional Irish food of
bacon and cabbage. However, whiskey and beer were not allowed.
In fact, until the 1970s, Irish law mandated pubs to close on March 17.
However, starting in 1995, the Irish government launched a national
campaign to harness the interest in St. Patrick's Day to boost tourism
and showcase Ireland and Irish culture to the rest of the world.
A big marketing push from Budweiser in the 80s extended beer
consumption on St. Patrick's Day, so this holiday is associated as
another excuse to drink up to the water from the vases, but the party is
more than that.
When and where is Saint Patrick's Day
celebrated?
Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated every year on March 17, the
anniversary of St. Patrick's death. In some places they move the day to
a different date if March 17 falls on holly week.
Within Ireland, in which a week is celebrated with various cultural and
festive activities. the capital, Dublin, is perhaps the place where more
people gather to celebrate this day in all the events that are organized.
However, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in many parts of the world.
Between the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries many Irish emigrated to Australia,
Canada or the United States, so some Irish customs, including St.
Patrick, became very popular in these countries.
St. Patrick is also commemorated in places like Russia, Argentina,
Australia, Switzerland or Japan. In addition, in some iconic monuments
around the world, such as the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de
Janeiro, the Colosseum in Rome, the Great Wall of China or the Tower
of Pisa, they are illuminated in green during March 17.
The same happens in the main Spanish cities. For example, St. Patrick
coincides with the week of the Fallas of Valencia so, if the atmosphere
is already festive in itself, the Irish celebration is also joined. If you go,
you will surely see many people with the typical leprechaun hats, they
are usually obtained if you drink a Guinness beer in any Irish pub.
Currently, both Irish and non-Irish people participate in the festivities of
this day, usually wearing a green garment or a shamrock, the Irish
national plant. On the other hand, corned beef and cabbage are
associated with festivity and, of course, beer. Some of these practices
were eventually adopted by the Irish themselves, however, they did so
largely for the benefit of tourists.
