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St. Patrick’s Day in America may be seen as some as a pot of gold on the calendar – a chance to don green while swigging jade beer and searching for an ounce of Irish ancestry with the same tenacity as you would a four-leaf clover.
But as the experts tell it, the day that originated in America is a prideful one for Irish and Irish Americans, one where their heritage is celebrated.
To get the scoop on the holiday, USA TODAY has turned to Elizabeth Stack, executive director of Albany’s Irish American Heritage Museum, and Brian Witt, the cultural exhibits coordinator for Milwaukee Irish Fest.
Here’s how they answered questions that you may have:
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St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, brought to the Emerald Isle when he was kidnapped and enslaved. Though he eventually escaped, he returned and advanced Christianity throughout the island. He is celebrated on March 17, the day he is believed to have died.
Witt says the day gives Irish and Irish Americans the opportunity to «celebrate their heritage,» and Stack agrees that the parades in places like the states and England convey «that the Irish people have made a contribution to the society – that they were sort of welcomed, that they were accepted as citizens.»Is St. Patrick’s Day a religious holiday?
It is and it isn’t, Witt says, noting some parades in the U.S. are preceded by Catholic masses. He believes, «Most people have no idea of any religious significance.»
Stack says the day is a religious holiday in Ireland, mentioning the island’s high Catholic population.
