For many here in America, St. Patrick’s Day is a day filled with Shamrock Shakes from McDonald’s, beer (for those of age) and green; lots and lots of green. Many

Redwings celebrate with shakes and other green things. What many may not know is that how St. Patrick’s Day is typically celebrated here in the United States was not how it is celebrated by our fellow Irish across the sea, until recently.

In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is known to celebrate St. Patrick and the missionary work he performed while in Ireland, thus making the day a religious holiday. The stigma of parades and green comes from the immigrants who came over to America as a way to show political power and was a way for the Irish to join together in numbers in the mid 18th century (Time Magazine).

Though America has given the holiday more of a party vibe rather than a religious one, one anonymous Senior said that,

“My church would host a celebration and we will do activities relating to St. Patrick, it’s not always the same thing, but always activities relating to St. Patrick”.

Some, such as Sophomore Aricel Mendoza, celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by,

“… making some St. Patrick’s Day themed pastries or wearing green”. And though pastries are tasty, others, such as Senior Brett Smith, enjoy the day with a more traditional meal with Irish soda bread, a dense, sweet bread.

“We have a traditional Irish dinner on St. Patrick’s Day with red cabbage, corn beef, Irish shepherd’s pie, and Irish soda bread,” explained Smith, “we so also enjoy getting decked out in green and my mom enjoys speaking in an Irish accent”.

Another thing typical to this festive day is a little Irish man that sits at the end of the rainbow to protect his pot of gold–a leprechaun. While some are portrayed as scary, as in the movie Leprechaun (1993) others are friendly, studious, and great at basketball, as in the movie The Luck of the Irish (2001), a movie Junior Payton Steinhardt and many others enjoy,

“St. Patrick’s Day is definitely one of my favorite holidays. I watch The Luck of the Irish and all the Leprechaun movies. Sometimes I even buy the stickers for your windows with little leprechauns and four leaf clovers,” explained Steinhardt.

Other great movies to watch on St. Patrick’s Day include:

The Secret of Roan Inish (1994)

The Quiet Man (1952)

Far and Away (1992)

Brooklyn (2015)

For many, today is a day of fun, festivities, and green. For others, a day to remember family and heritage. And though we all may be Redwings, we all sport a bit of green today.