The holiday began as the feast day for the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick. Ireland honored his death in the fifth century. Irish families celebrated it by going to mass and dinner; however, the first parade honoring the Saint was not in Ireland, but in the United States on March 17, 1762. This began the spread of Irish patriotism in America, especially as more immigrants moved to the United States.

More recently, New York, Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia host parades with New York’s being the largest. Though New York’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is one of the largest in the world, one of the most extravagant celebrations is Chicago’s, which boasts the world famous annual river dyeing of the Chicago River, which began in 1962. Today, the holiday extends beyond the United States as it has spread all around the world from Japan to Russia. Even Ireland has used the holiday to attract tourism when at first it was a strictly a religious holiday in the country. This year, Nazareth has March 17 off. Take some time to go to the parade or watch the river being dyed: you will not regret it!