St. Patrick’s Day

     Almost everybody knows that St. Patty’s Day is an Irish holiday celebrated on March 17th. Oftentimes, St. Patrick’s Day means little green men with pots of gold at the end of the rainbow, and of course, the lucky four leaf clover. With a variety of traditions to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, it can mean many different things to many different people. But have you ever wondered how this holiday came about, or what it really means?

     Initially, St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated as a religious holiday and feast. It became a public holiday in 1903 by the Money Bank Act. The public celebrated with a feast and traditions, which culminated into the shamrock and green-riddled holiday we know today. Even though it is celebrated by 6 different countries, it is not an official holiday.

    There is such a varietyof different dishes because it started as a feast. Most of the meals include meat, cabbage, and potatoes. Some of the things that are eaten during this time are corn beef and cabbage, and brown soda bread.

     Nowadays we just drink ’till we drop and dye stuff green.  Every year the Chicago river gets tons and tons of green food coloring poured into it.  Can’t imagine how happy the fish are, right?  Besides making the enviroment look like a sea of shamrocks, we pinch people if they dont wear green.  Fun fun!

     So remeber, wear green and don’t be suprised when the oceans turn a crisp green on the 17th.

by Cami B.