The Ultimate Celebration - St. Patty's Day in Ireland

We all love Saint Patrick’s Day. It’s a fun excuse for us Americans to wear green, drink Irish whiskey and embrace a side of us that many have. But do many of us actually know anything about the holiday? In Ireland it is a national public holiday. There are festivals all over the country celebrating it, the biggest being the official Saint Patrick’s Day Festival celebrated March 16^th through the 20^th. Since we love Ireland, and in honor of one of our greatest Ireland vacation deals yet (yes, check it out now and book soon!), we thought we’d pay tribute to the holiday that many of us hold so dear.

Named after Saint Patrick, the most commonly recognized patron saint of Ireland, the holiday originated as a Catholic celebration and later became more secular. Born in Roman Britain in the 4^th century A.D., Saint Patrick was kidnapped by Irish raiders and held captive by them at the age of 16. He later fled and returned to Britain. In 432 he returned to Ireland as a bishop, on a mission to bring Christianity to the Irish. Folklore tells us that one of his teaching methods included using the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish people. After teaching for nearly 30 years, he died on March 17^th, 461. The original color associated with Saint Patrick was blue. I bet many of you didn’t know that. Over the years the color green and the image of the shamrock became associated with him.

In 1903, Saint Patrick’s Day became an officially declared holiday in Ireland. In the mid 1990s, the Irish government began a campaign to use Saint Patrick’s Day to showcase Ireland and its culture. This blossomed into the national Saint Patrick’s Day Festival, the first of which was held in 1996. Now it is a four-day event and we have to say, it’s pretty spectacular.

Feel like seeing this holiday in its natural environment? Sceptre Tours has a number of Ireland vacation packages for you, the best deal of which puts you right in the action for only $599. Check it out and see Saint Patrick’s Day in its full glory.