St. Patrick’s Day

 This Wednesday, March 17, is St. Patrick’s Day. St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland — that’s a Catholic tradition in which certain saints (people who are recognized for dedicating their lives to their religion) are believed to protect certain countries or activities.

St. Patrick’s Day is an important day in Ireland, but it’s arguably an even bigger celebration in the U.S., especially in areas that have seen a lot of Irish immigration (Chicago and New York come to mind). Since one of Ireland’s most popular exports is its beer (especially the dark “stout” beer, Guinness), a lot of the celebrations here tend to involve drinking large amounts of it!

You might see people wearing green on Wednesday (if you live in Chicago, you might see the Chicago River dyed green!). This is because the color green is a symbol of Ireland. It’s a very green country (lots of rain …) and green is also the color of an important national symbol, the shamrock plant.

Enjoy the day, and of course, stay safe.