The SPECTRUM

Volume 31

The SPECTRUM

The SPECTRUM

St. Patty’s Day

Where Saint Patrick’s Day comes from

Saint Patrick’s day is a widespread holiday honoring Irish culture and Saint Patrick. This holiday’s rich history dates back to 387 C.E. when Patrick was born in Roman Britain. When Patrick was in his early teens, Irish pagans attacked his home and kidnapped him.

Although St. Patrick’s day is a religious holiday, Patrick wasn’t extremely religious in his early years. However, he came to enjoy the Irish spirit and developed a strong faith while in Ireland. At the time, much of Ireland practiced a form of Celtic polytheism.

After six years of slavery, Patrick escaped Ireland. He later returned and traveled from town to town establishing churches, preaching Christianity, baptizing priests and convincing members of the royal family to convert. Saint Patrick reinvented the religious life of Ireland, which earned him a widely celebrated holiday today.

This information is from the article “History of St. Patrick’s Day,” published on History.com.

Saint Patrick’s Day at Harvard-Westlake (HW)

HW students likely walked around the city in various shades of green this March 17. In a survey sent to HW middle school students, 44 percent of 196 respondents said they planned to wear some green to honor the holiday. Although some students likely wore green simply to avoid being pinched by a friend or family member, others wore the color to honor their Irish heritage. In fact, 25 percent of respondents reported having Irish in their blood.

Several students wrote that their families’ favorite way to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day was to go out for green bagels. Others planned to decorate their houses in several shades of green.

Celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day in 2019

Various celebrations of Saint Patrick’s day took place in Los Angeles this March 17. The LA Farmers Market had many festivities including had several restaurants create Irish themed menus. Furthermore, a bagpiper and folks bands paraded through the market.

Hermosa Beach is home to an annual Saint Patrick’s day parade. In fact, 2019 marked 25 years of this parade. Around 20,000 onlookers lined up to see the bagpipers, floats, horses and a club of Irish Setters.

Other celebrations of interest this Saint Patrick’s day were held in Downtown Los Angeles. For example, Casey’s Street Fair was home to food, drinks, games and Irish themed music.

The biggest Saint Patrick’s day celebration was the New York, New York Saint Patrick’s Day parade. Instead of cars and floats, this parade includes bagpipes and dancers, with a stop at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. Since 1762, New York has been on the forefront of Saint Patrick’s celebrations.

Even though Saint Patrick’s Day recently passed, you can still participate in this honoring of Irish culture next year.

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