Yes, you read the title of this article correctly. Today or whenever you choose to read this article I will give you the real inside scoop into why St. Patrick’s Day is the best holiday to grace the Earth. Whether you are Irish or not, St. Patrick’s Day is a time to celebrate being alive by wearing all the green you can, shouting to the rooftops with excitement, and spending time with friends and family. Now if you are Irish it definitely feels like the world is your oyster because it gives you a day to celebrate your heritage with the people you love, and with zero judgment. I personally love the fact that I can wear all the green I desire and nobody will give me an ugly look.  Throughout this article I will give you special tidbits on how to make my favorite holiday one of yours.

The History of St. Patrick’s Day:

St. Patrick’s Day was originally designed to celebrate the patron saint of Ireland: St Patrick. Patrick is most famous for bringing Christianity to Ireland. Patrick was originally brought to the island as a slave but later escaped. Upon his return he was able to convert the island of Ireland to Christianity, resulting in his feast day of March 17th being established. Surprisingly enough the reason his feast day was established on March 17th was due to it being the date of his death. Since his death there have been many legends about St. Patrick, for example, it is said that he drove the snakes out of Ireland, and used the shamrock as a way to visually explain the Holy Trinity aka the father, the son, and the holy spirit. In modern civilization, Ireland does not celebrate the holiday to the extent that Americans do, due to the large number of Irish immigrants who brought the culture and new celebrations to the United States. A major hub for celebration in Ireland is Dublin, as it tends to be the most visited city in Ireland for Americans to go and celebrate. Major St. Patrick’s Day hubs in America include Boston and Chicago, as they are home to some of the largest Irish populations in the world. In Chicago, they have an annual tradition of dying the river green to replicate that of a shamrock green. Attached below is a link to a quiz on Britannica to test your Irish heritage knowledge.

Quiz Link: https://www.britannica.com/quiz/the-irish-quiz

How to Dress on St. Patrick’s Day: 

Green Green Green is key for St. Patrick’s Day unless you are one of the unfortunate people who would rather get pinched than wear green. I would first begin your green outfit with a basic green top. Since it will be during the middle of march it should not be too cold down here in Charleston, South Carolina, but if you are planning on traveling you might need to pack a green or white jacket to complement your green top. For St Patrick’s day I will either be wearing my green Ireland soccer jersey which I got as a hand me down from my brother because it was too small for him, or a white tank top, as my bottoms will most definitely be green. For bottoms I would recommend either a green skirt, shorts, or even pants, or if you chose to wear a green top you can wear white bottoms instead. I will most likely be wearing my green athletic skirt as it will match well with either tops I can choose between. Now you can go above and beyond with your choice in accessories, such as a pair of green heart sunglasses, a green hair tie, green socks, or even green shoes. I already have my St. Patrick’s day scrunchie from Target ready to go, and as the holiday approaches I will probably get some socks and sunglasses from either Amazon or Target. If you have no green clothes at all, then accessories could be your best bet, because as long as you have some green on, you are free from the pinching.

The Food:

Now in my opinion I feel like you can not have St. Patrick’s Day without a Shamrock shake which is proudly sold by your local McDonalds. Last  Thursday, after picking my brother up from football workouts and voting, we decided to take a detour to Maccy D’s and get shamrock shakes to kick the holiday season off. I would say that from both of our reactions after tasting the shake it was a very delicious milkshake that I would recommend anyone to try while it is still in stores. The flavor is mint and it appears green, providing an authentic St. Patrick’s Day experience. Now for the actual day itself I would recommend eating some of the more traditional foods such as corned beef and cabbage, or if you want to keep it simple you can always make or go to a restaurant and order a reuben sandwich which consists of corned beef, sauerkraut, cheese, and thousand island dressing. Another classic meal is bangers and mash which consists of mashed potatoes and sausages.

Leprechauns:

One memory that I would wish to share to y’all about my experiences with Leprechauns would be a flashback to my childhood when I was around 10 years old and I was taught to believe that on the eve of St. Patrick’s Day you should set a leprechaun trap in order to capture his pot of gold. Our leprechaun was named Freckle Toes and we seemed to always miss him when we set a trap. He would usually leave a note saying how our trap became more ingenuitive however we were unable to catch him. Usually he would leave either some sort of coin or chocolate golden coins. Maybe my story will inspire some of y’all to set your own traps.

Hopefully I was able to convince you of why this holiday is so important and why it is my favorite and the best holiday.