Let’s get shamrockin’! St. Patrick’s Day only comes once a year, which means only one thing… St. Patrick’s Day Party! Grab your green attire and noise makers for this magical day! Whether you are Irish or not, it’s a reason to celebrate and drink green beer! PartyCheap has everything you need to make this party glorious with all shades of green! Remember if you’re lucky enough to be Irish, then you’re lucky enough!
So why do we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day anyway? Beginning in 1995, the Irish government made March 17th a national holiday in an effort to boost tourism and to showcase Ireland and Irish culture to the rest of the world. The holiday is named after Saint Patrick, who lived during the fifth century. He is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. Saint Patrick was born in Roman Britain but was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. He escaped, but later returned to Ireland and brought Christianity to its people. It is believed that Saint Patrick died on March 17th and the mythology surrounding his life became even more ingrained in the Irish culture. He explained to his people the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) using the tree leaves of a native Irish clover, the shamrock.
As Irish patriotism grew among American immigrants, the annual holiday began to grow in popularity with different “Irish Aid” societies holding annual parades and other festivities. The first parade held to honor St. Patrick’s Day took place in the United States. On March 17, 1962, Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City. This parade helped soldiers reconnect with their Irish roots.
Today, the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade is the world’s oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States. Each year, nearly 3 million people line the parade route - which is only 1.5 miles long - in order to watch the procession, which takes more than five hours. As Irish immigrants spread out over the United States, other cities developed their own traditions. Such cities include; Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Savannah.
A popular tradition is Chicago’s annual dyeing of the Chicago River green. This practice started in 1962, when the city pollution control workers used dyes to trace illegal sewage discharges and realized that the green dye might provide a unique way to celebrate. That year, they released 100 pounds of green vegetable dye into the river. This kept the river green for an entire week! Today, in order to minimize environmental damage, only 40 pounds of dye are used and the river only turns green for several hours.
St. Patrick’s Day has become an International celebration full of parades, concerts, outdoor theater production and fireworks shows. In order to get the real feel of the Irish culture, travel to Dublin, Ireland where approximately 1 million people take part in the celebration. For more St. Patrick’s Day history visit www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day
Now that our history lesson is out of the way, it’s time to be a Party O’ Animal! Break out the St. Patrick’s Day Decorations to get all your guests in the Gaelic spirit! Deck out the house in Shamrock Shimmer Garland. Play bagpipes in the background with drums, this will be sure to make everyone feel like they are in Ireland. Dance around like a cheerful leprechaun! Throw Shamrock Beads in the air to the best dancer!
Hide the Irish Whiskey, Grandma has arrived! Warn your guests about Grandma! Before she even has a chance to find the liquor cabinet, put the Irish Whiskey Makes Me Frisky Satin Sash over her shoulder. Need more St. Patrick’s Day Supplies to help you look like a genuine Irish? Visit PartyCheap.com to find a St. Patrick Vest for him and a Plastic Irish Miss Vest for her! Everyone will look legendary!
All this partying will make your guests very hungry! To go along with the St. Patrick’s Day Theme, we need to have Irish food! Have a large smorgasbord of various Irish food. The most important dish is corned beef, cabbage and potatoes. Have someone bring bangers and mash too! Irish meat pies, Irish beef stew, and shepherd's pie better make an appearance as well. If you’re not sure what to bring, you will never go wrong with meat and potatoes!
Wash all the starch down with a nice cold glass of green beer or a Guinness! St. Patrick’s Day is all about drinking green beer! For those that are not beer drinkers, try an Irish trash can but be careful, they are wicked!Lastly for the tots, serve shamrock shakes and lime sherbet floats! Everything will be delightful!
St. Patrick’s Day is an eventful and fun holiday for all to enjoy! Celebrate with PartyCheap for all your St. Patrick’s Day Party Ideas! You can never go wrong when your wear green and a Kiss Me I’m Irish Button! May the luck of the Irish be with you! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
