Despite being an Irish tradition, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in various countries worldwide. From its beginnings, St. Patrick’s Day was a Catholic feast in reference to the Irish saint and was celebrated exclusively in Ireland before the 17th century.
It is believed that a century later, it was transformed into a secular feast that began to be celebrated in the United States by Irish immigrants who settled there and began to hold St. Patrick’s Day parades. They used this occasion to express their frustration of having a low social status in the country.
Meanwhile, for more than five decades the Chicago River is being dyed green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. It began back in 1961 when plumbers used the dye used to find leaks and pollution in the river.
Why is green the colour associated with St. Patrick’s Day?
There have been studies concluding that blue the first colour associated with this Irish celebration and that the change occurred in the 17th century. Green is one the colours featuring in the Irish flag.
According to the Catholics, St. Patrick used the three-leaf clover to explain to the Irish people the mystery of the Holy Trinity when he tried to convert them to Christianity.