X. St Patricks Day

Every year on St. Patrick’s Day my mom makes a special dinner. We have corn beef and cabbage. I honestly have no idea about the significance of this meal on St. Patrick’s Day so I decided to research it. What I found out was quite interesting. Corn beef and cabbage is not a traditional dish in Ireland. Bacon and cabbage was the traditional mean in Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day. In Ireland only the wealthy people ate beef. When people from Ireland moved to New York City they looked for a substitute for bacon. Beef was much more affordable in the United States than it was in Ireland. People started making the beef the way they would make bacon. So corn beef is actually an American tradition rather than an Irish tradition. St. Patrick’s Day takes place on March 17^th every year. It has been recognized as a religious holiday for over 1,000 years. Up until the 1970s Irish pubs had no choice but to be closed on St. Patrick’s Day. Now St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated widely in many different countries. In Dublin, Ireland approximately one million people take part in the annual St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Saint Patrick is the Patron saint and the national apostle of Ireland. People celebrate Saint Patrick because he is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. A theory for why St. Patrick’s Day is on March 17^th is because that was the day he died on. Shamrocks, green and gold and luck are associated with Saint Patrick’s Day. I don’t think many people know what they celebrate on Saint Patrick’s Day and they just use it as an excuse to have parties and consume alcohol. Overall my only Saint Patrick’s Day tradition is eating corn beef and cabbage. March 17^th is a day I look forward to each year!