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    St. Patrick's Day Traditions - HISTORY

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    Rubén Pérez Aledo
    The document discusses the origins and traditions of symbols associated with St. Patrick's Day, including the shamrock, Irish music, legends of St. Patrick banishing snakes from Ireland, foods like corned beef and cabbage, and leprechauns. It explains that shamrocks became a symbol of Irish identity, music was important for preserving Irish culture when it was outlawed, the snake story was an allegory, and corned beef and leprechauns became associated with the holiday later on.

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    St. Patrick's Day Traditions - HISTORY

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    Rubén Pérez Aledo
    44 views4 pages
    The document discusses the origins and traditions of symbols associated with St. Patrick's Day, including the shamrock, Irish music, legends of St. Patrick banishing snakes from Ireland, foods like corned beef and cabbage, and leprechauns. It explains that shamrocks became a symbol of Irish identity, music was important for preserving Irish culture when it was outlawed, the snake story was an allegory, and corned beef and leprechauns became associated with the holiday later on.

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    St. Patrick’s Day Traditions - HISTORY

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    The document discusses the origins and traditions of symbols associated with St. Patrick's Day, including the shamrock, Irish music, legends of St. Patrick banishing snakes from Ireland, foods like corned beef and cabbage, and leprechauns. It explains that shamrocks became a symbol of Irish identity, music was important for preserving Irish culture when it was outlawed, the snake story was an allegory, and corned beef and leprechauns became associated with the holiday later on.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    44 views4 pages

    St. Patrick's Day Traditions - HISTORY

    Uploaded by

    Rubén Pérez Aledo
    The document discusses the origins and traditions of symbols associated with St. Patrick's Day, including the shamrock, Irish music, legends of St. Patrick banishing snakes from Ireland, foods like corned beef and cabbage, and leprechauns. It explains that shamrocks became a symbol of Irish identity, music was important for preserving Irish culture when it was outlawed, the snake story was an allegory, and corned beef and leprechauns became associated with the holiday later on.

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    17/3/23, 10:50 St.

    Patrick’s Day Traditions - HISTORY

    St. Patrick’s Day Traditions


    HISTORY.COM EDITORS • UPDATED: FEB 24, 2023 · ORIGINAL: OCT 27, 2009

    Marco Dubrick/EyeEm/Getty Images

    Celebrated annually on March 17, St.


    Patrick’s Day is a holiday known for
    CONTENTS parades, shamrocks and all things Irish.
    From leprechauns to the color green, find
    1. The Shamrock out how symbols we now associate with
    2. Irish Music St. Patrick’s Day came to be, and learn
    about a few that are purely American
    3. The Snake inventions.
    4. Corned Beef and St. Patrick's
    Day Foods
    WATCH: Saint Patrick: The Man, The
    5. Leprechauns Myth on HISTORY Vault

    The Shamrock

    The shamrock, which was also called the “seamroy” by the Celts, was a sacred plant in
    ancient Ireland because it symbolized the rebirth of spring. By the seventeenth
    century, the shamrock had become a symbol of emerging Irish nationalism. As the
    English began to seize Irish land and make laws against the use of the Irish language
    and the practice of Catholicism, many Irish began to wear the shamrock as a symbol
    of their pride in their heritage and their displeasure with English rule.

    https://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/st-patricks-day-symbols-and-traditions 1/4
    17/3/23, 10:50 St. Patrick’s Day Traditions - HISTORY

    Did you know? The color traditionally associated with St. Patrick was blue, not green.

    Irish Music

    Music is often associated with St. Patrick’s Day—and Irish culture in general. From
    ancient days of the Celts, music has always been an important part of Irish life. The
    Celts had an oral culture, where religion, legend and history were passed from one
    generation to the next by way of stories and songs. 

    After being conquered by the English, and forbidden to speak their own language, the
    Irish, like other oppressed peoples, turned to music to help them remember
    important events and hold on to their heritage and history. As it often stirred emotion
    and helped to galvanize people, music was outlawed by the English. During her reign,
    Queen Elizabeth I even decreed that all artists and pipers were to be arrested and
    hanged on the spot.

    Today, traditional Irish bands like The Chieftains, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy
    Makem are gaining worldwide popularity. Their music is produced with instruments
    that have been used for centuries, including the fiddle, the uilleann pipes (a sort of
    elaborate bagpipe), the tin whistle (a sort of flute that is actually made of nickel-silver,
    brass or aluminum) and the bodhran (an ancient type of framedrum that was
    traditionally used in warfare rather than music).

    Scroll to Continue

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    The Snake

    It has long been recounted that, during his mission in Ireland, St. Patrick once stood
    on a hilltop (which is now called Croagh Patrick), and with only a wooden staff by his
    side, banished all the snakes from Ireland.

    https://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/st-patricks-day-symbols-and-traditions 2/4
    17/3/23, 10:50 St. Patrick’s Day Traditions - HISTORY

    In fact, the island nation was never home to any snakes. The “banishing of the snakes”
    was really a metaphor for the eradication of pagan ideology from Ireland and the
    triumph of Christianity. Within 200 years of Patrick’s arrival, Ireland was completely
    Christianized.

    Corned Beef and St. Patrick's Day Foods

    Each year, thousands of Irish Americans gather with their loved ones on St. Patrick’s
    Day to share a “traditional” meal of corned beef and cabbage.

    Though cabbage has long been an Irish food, corned beef only began to be associated
    with St. Patrick’s Day at the turn of the 20th century.

    Irish immigrants living on New York City’s Lower East Side substituted corned beef for
    their traditional dish of Irish bacon to save money. They learned about the cheaper
    alternative from their Jewish neighbors.

    Leprechauns

    One icon of the Irish holiday is the Leprechaun. The original Irish name for these
    figures of folklore is “lobaircin,” meaning “small-bodied fellow.” Belief in leprechauns
    probably stems from Celtic belief in fairies, tiny men and women who could use their
    magical powers to serve good or evil. 

    In Celtic folktales, leprechauns were cranky souls, responsible for mending the shoes
    of the other fairies. Though only minor figures in Celtic folklore, leprechauns were
    known for their trickery, which they often used to protect their much-fabled treasure.
    Leprechauns have their own holiday on May 13, but are also celebrated on St.
    Patrick's, with many dressing up as the wily fairies.

    WATCH: Are Leprechauns Real?


    Citation Information
    Article Title
    St. Patrick’s Day Traditions

    Author
    History.com Editors

    Website Name
    HISTORY

    URL
    https://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/st-patricks-day-symbols-and-
    traditions

    Access Date
    17 de marzo de 2023

    https://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/st-patricks-day-symbols-and-traditions 3/4
    17/3/23, 10:50 St. Patrick’s Day Traditions - HISTORY

    Publisher
    A&E Television Networks

    Last Updated
    February 24, 2023

    Original Published Date


    October 27, 2009

    FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right,
    click here to contact us!

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