Why do we celebrate St. Patrick's Day? The Irish holiday explained, origins in Florida

Feeling extra lucky this weekend?

It's officially the start of St. Patrick's Day weekend and even if you're not Irish, you now have an excuse to get your green on.

Across the state, there's several St. Paddy's Day events to attend, including pub crawls, block parties where you can indulge in Irish cuisine and parades to catch. Here's a look at how this beloved holiday came to be and how it has changed over time.

When is St. Patrick's Day 2024? Is it always on the same day?

St. Patrick’s Day will fall on Sunday, March 17. The reason it is celebrated on the 17th is because it is the day St. Patrick is believed to have died. 

Is St. Patrick's Day a federal holiday? 

St. Patrick's Day is not a federal holiday in the United States. Post offices, banks, and most businesses and stores will be open on Friday, even amid parades and other celebrations.

What is the meaning behind St. Patrick's Day?

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, brought to the Emerald Isle when he was kidnapped and enslaved. Though he eventually escaped, he returned and advanced Christianity throughout the island.

Brian Witt, the cultural exhibits coordinator for Milwaukee Irish Fest, told USA Today the day gives Irish and Irish Americans the opportunity to "celebrate their heritage." Elizabeth Stack, executive director of Albany's Irish American Heritage Museum, also agreed that the parades in places like the states and England convey "that the Irish people have made a contribution to the society – that they were sort of welcomed, that they were accepted as citizens."

It is still a bank holiday and a big family day in Ireland, even though St. Patrick himself was supposedly born in Britain.

Why does the United States celebrate St. Patrick's Day?

 How did an Irish holiday make its way to America? The National Portrait Gallery says Irish soldiers—often indentured servants—in the British Army brought the holiday to America back in the late 1700's.

Saint Patrick was originally celebrated for bringing Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century and, up until the mid-20th century, the NPG says the holiday remained modest and grounded in religion. It wasn't until the 1960s that in Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day took on more celebratory, fun traditions.

Why do we wear green?

 Wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day actually comes from 18th century Ireland, when Irish people made green a symbol of Irish rebellion and nationalism under Britain’s rule. Wearing green on the holiday was loosely tied to Saint Patrick, but a more direct symbol of the patron saint of Ireland was the three-leaf shamrock.

“The significance of the three-leafed shamrock comes from St. Patrick himself,” Irish Historian Elizabeth Stack said in a History.com article. “He used the shamrock to describe the three forms of God — the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit — to convert early Irish people to Christianity.”

There’s also a superstitious reason for wearing green on St. Paddy’s, but its origin is more American than Irish. The legend suggests that wearing green will keep you safe from being pinched by a leprechaun.

“No one in Ireland is worried that they will be pinched if they don't wear green,” History.com says. “The mischievous mythical creatures don’t actually have anything to do with the feast day of Ireland’s patron saint, who is credited with spreading Christianity on the island in the Fifth Century, in part by blending its rituals with customs of the ancient Celtic pagan religion.”

Irish people in America, Florida by the numbers

According to a press release from the United States Census Bureau, many Americans have something to celebrate this St. Patrick's Day:

• 30.7 million U.S residents claimed Irish ancestry in 2022.
• Cook County Illinois, which includes Chicago, is the nation's county with the largest Irish-American population, according to 2022 data. The population comes in at 418,997.
• 112,251 U.S. residents were born in Ireland.

A 2023 Forbes report based on Census numbers, said Florida ranked fourth for states with most people of Irish Heritage in the country with 1.8 million Floridians.

Where was the first St. Patrick’s Day celebrated in America?

Would you have guessed it was in Florida? While the first St. Patrick’s Day parade in Ireland was in Waterford in 1903, according to IrishCentral, the first American version of a St. Patrick’s Day was in 1601, in a Spanish Colony that is now St. Augustine, Florida. 

And the first recorded celebration of St. Patrick’s Day in the country was also in St. Augustine, one year earlier than the first parade.

“The sensational information was uncovered in December 2017 by historian Dr. J. Michael Francis in a gunpowder expenditures log in Spain's Archivo General de Indias, or AGI,” IrishCentral’s website says.

That’s well over 100 years before the first recorded St. Patrick’s Day parades in Boston and New York City.

Still looking at St. Patrick's Day parades to watch this weekend? See these Florida parades this weekend:

Saturday, March 16

• Delray Beach’s 54th St. Patrick’s Day - Saturday, March 16 from noon to 2 p.m.
• Fort Lauderdale St. Patrick’s Day Parade - Saturday, March 16 starting at noon
• Tampa St. Patrick's Day Parade - Saturday, March 16 starting at 5 p.m.
• Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade in Crawfordville - Saturday, March 16

Sunday, March 17

• Downtown Hollywood St. Patrick’s Day Parade - Sunday, March 17 starting at 1 p.m.
• Inverness St. Patrick's Day Parade - Sunday, March 17