 Saint
Patrick's Day (March
17th) is the Irish feast day which celebrates Saint Patrick
(386-461), the patron saint of Ireland. It is a legal holiday
in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the overseas
territory of Montserrat and the Canadian province of Newfoundland
and Labrador. It is celebrated worldwide by the Irish and
those of Irish descent and increasingly by many of non-Irish
descent. A major parade takes place in Dublin and in most
other Irish towns and villages. The four largest parades
of recent years have been held in Dublin, New York City,
Manchester, and Montreal. Parades also take place in other
places, including London, Paris, Rome, Munich, Moscow, Beijing,
Hong Kong, Singapore, Copenhagen and throughout the Americas.
As well as being a celebration of Irish culture, St. Patrick's
Day is a Christian festival celebrated in the Roman Catholic
Church, the Church of Ireland (among other churches in the
Anglican Communion) and some other denominations. However,
as a Christian festival, St. Patrick's Day sometimes is required
to give way to a more important feast. The day always falls
in the season of Lent, and it may fall in Holy Week. In church
calendars, though rarely in secular ones, if St. Patrick's
Day falls on a Sunday, it is moved to the following Monday.
If it falls in Holy Week, it is moved to the second Monday
after Easter. In Ireland it is traditional that those observing
a lenten fast may break it for the duration of St. Patrick's
Day (as well as many American Roman Catholic dioceses which
contain a large percentage of Irish American parishioners. |
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