Its time to get your Irish on and celebrate the one and only St. Patrick’s Day! AJM would like to give you some fun facts on just how the holiday came about.
Facts:
- St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated every year on March 17th.
- It is the anniversary of St. Patrick’s death in the 5th century. It is a day celebrated by first going to church in the morning, and then later celebrated by dancing, drinking, and feasting!
- The first St. Patrick’s Day was surprisingly celebrated right on the streets of New York City. It was celebrated on March 17th, 1762 by Irish soldiers who served in the English military.
- When the Irish came to America due to the Potatoes Famine, they were portrayed in newspapers as drunks and violent idiots. The Irish eventually came up with a voting block called the “Green Machine” which allowed them to swing votes for political leaders more to their favor.
- St. Patrick’s Day was a day which showed Irish Americans strengths and was finally given satisfaction in 1948 when President Truman attended the New York City St. Patrick’s Day. This showed that all of the stereotypes and racial prejudices that went against the Irish were starting to dissipate due to the Irish Americans hard work to prove those stereotypes wrong.
- Today St. Patrick’s day is celebrated in more than just America and Ireland. It is celebrated in such countries like Canada, Australia, Japan, Singapore, and Russia.
- St. Patrick’s Day is still a religious holiday, but has moved more towards a day of celebrating life and all that we have.
So from all of us here at AJM, we wish you a Happy St. Patrick’s Day
Work Cited:
"St. Patrick's Day." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 16 Jun 2010. <http://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day>.