Remember when you were in elementary school and everyone had to wear green on St. Patrick’s Day unless they wanted to be pinched? Did you ever wonder what this holiday was all about and why you were wearing green? The simple answer is that St. Patrick’s Day is a Catholic holy day of obligation that falls on the anniversary of the death of Ireland’s patron saint in the fifth century. In Ireland, Catholics traditionally attended church and enjoyed a feast afterwards. Since St. Patrick is believed to have used a three-leafed clover to represent the parts of the holy trinity, the shamrock and its bright green color became associated with the celebration. Today, the holiday is widely celebrated–with or without religious obligations.
One important St. Patrick’s Day tradition is the parade. Surprisingly, the original St. Patrick’s Day parade took place in New York City and not in Ireland. Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City on March 17, 1762. The noisy, music-filled parade was a chance for the soldiers to connect with their Irish roots and fellow Irishmen. Over time, Irish patriotism among American immigrants grew—and the traditional parade evolved to include bagpipes, drums, and dancing. By 1848, several New York Irish aid societies decided to unite to form one New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Today, that parade is the world ’s oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States. Each year, nearly three million people line the one-and-a-half mile parade route to watch the procession, which has 150,000 participants and lasts more than five hours from start to finish.
If you are wondering what there is to do in San Diego on St. Paddy’s day, grab your shamrock and check out the festivities over at the St. Patricks Day Parade
A long time ago, way back in history,
when all there was to drink was nothin but cups of tea.
Along came a man by the name of Charlie Mops,
and he invented a wonderful drink and he made it out of hops.
He must have been an admiral a sultan or a king,
and to his praises we shall always sing.
Look what he has done for us he’s filled us up with cheer!
Lord bless Charlie Mops, the man who invented beer beer beer
tiddly beer beer beer.
The Curtis bar, the James’ Pub, the Hole in the Wall as well
one thing you can be sure of, its Charlie’s beer they sell
so all ye lads a lasses at eleven O’clock ye stop
for five short seconds, remember Charlie Mops 1 2 3 4 5
He must have been an admiral a sultan or a king,
and to his praises we shall always sing.
Look what he has done for us he’s filled us up with cheer!
Lord bless Charlie Mops, the man who invented beer beer beer
tiddly beer beer beer.
A barrel of malt, a bushel of hops, you stir it around with a stick,
the kind of lubrication to make your engine tick.
40 pints of wallop a day will keep away the quacks.
Its only eight pence hapenny and one and six in tax, 1 2 3 4 5
He must have been an admiral a sultan or a king,
and to his praises we shall always sing.
Look what he has done for us he’s filled us up with cheer!
Lord bless Charlie Mops, the man who invented beer beer beer
tiddly beer beer beer.
