The National Holiday of Ireland.
Figure 1: Ireland. http://www.ballybride.com/images/ireland.jpg
Abstract
St. Patrick’s Day is the national holiday of Ireland, and its popularity has grown significantly over the years. The holiday was established in Ireland in the 1600s when the Church decided to have an annual feast recognizing the patron saint. Over the years, St. Patrick’s Day has grown globally and is now celebrated in many cultures around the world by people of all different backgrounds. The main cultural significance of St. Patrick’s Day is that it serves as a unifier for all different ethnic and financial backgrounds. “St. Patrick’s day was celebrated by all sections of Irish society in the eighteenth century: state, churches, professional classes and the lower orders” (McCormack, 69). In Ireland, when the holiday was first established, it did not matter where you were from or what your community status was, all people were welcomed to celebrate this patron saint. Now, this holiday is celebrated in many cultures all over the world by people of all different ethnic, financial and religious backgrounds.
Figure 2: St. Patrick http://images.encarta.msn.com /xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/image/ /pho/t043/T043610A.jpg Figure 3: St. Patrick's Day Festival. Dublin,Ireland. http://www.ireland.com/events/st.patricks/ gallery/3.html
Introduction
St. Patrick’s Day is the national holiday of Ireland and a religious celebration characterized by a display of sacred objects, instruction of ethics and correct behavior, and a recital of mythical narratives. The intent of this holiday is to celebrate St. Patrick, the man credited for spreading Christianity throughout Ireland 1500 years ago. Although this did not happen in his lifetime, today most of the Irish population is Catholic. This holiday is no longer celebrated only in Ireland. At present, St. Patrick’s Day is also celebrated in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Singapore and Russia.
Context of Ireland
Ireland gained independence from the United Kingdom on December 6, 1921. It is an island located in Western Europe. Ulster, Leinster, Munster and Connaught are the four provinces of Ireland, and each of those is divided into countries. The main religion in Ireland is Roman Catholic and this includes about 91% of the population. The type of government Ireland has is republic and the main language is English, although Gaelic is still spoken in some parts of the country.
The climate of Ireland is mild and rainy. The geography consists of hills and low mountains. Ireland as a whole is a fairly small country, and if it were to be compared to a state in the U.S. it would only be slightly larger than West Virginia (The World Factbook).
Origins of St. Patrick's Day
St. Patrick’s Day is named after St. Patrick, who, as I mentioned earlier, is credited for spreading Christianity throughout Ireland. This holiday can be traced back as far as 1607, when it was listed as a saint’s day by the Irish calendar. When Patrick elevated to the status of patron saint, March 17th was assumed to be of greater importance than before, and Pope Urban VIII officially added the feast of St. Patrick to the Church calendar in 1631 (Cronin and Adair, 2002:1). The holiday takes place on March 17th because that is the day that St. Patrick died (Mullan, 2000).
Performance
As I stated above, St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday that celebrates the death of St. Patrick. Originally the holiday was celebrated by people gathering in the Church to have a huge feast in honor of St. Patrick. Today, this holiday is celebrated not only in Ireland, but in many other countries around the world. In most countries, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated just for the sake of being celebrated. This holiday serves as a good ethical celebration. Although I don’t think a lot of American’s realize the importance of this holiday, there are still Irish Americans who understand its origin. In America, St. Patrick’s Day is often affiliated with everything being green, shamrocks and leprechauns. In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is survived through numerous legends and symbols. Some of the legends include St. Patrick driving all of the snakes out of Ireland and his use of the shamrock to demonstrate the Holy Trinity to the people of Ireland. Some symbols affiliated with the holiday include fairies and leprechauns, which are thought to be magical spirits, harps that are used in storytelling, and green is in abundance to remind the Irish of the shamrock (St. Patrick’s Day, 2002: 23-26). In 1996, the annual St. Patrick’s Day Festival was established in Dublin, Ireland. Because of its recent development, it is possible that the establishment of this parade is a product of globalization. Globalization is defined as the process by which the experience of everyday life, marked by the diffusion of commodities and ideas, can foster a standardization of cultural expressions around the world (Encyclopedia Britannica Online). Although St. Patrick’s Day was originally celebrated in Ireland, other cultures, predominately the American culture, has adopted and altered this holiday. I believe that St. Patrick’s Day is a product of globalization because it wasn’t until recently that Ireland decided to put on this festival, and there are elements from other cultures incorporated into the celebration. For example, the parade is a five day celebration characterized by carnival style parades, fireworks and one of Ireland’s biggest outdoor dance events (St. Patrick’s Day Festival).
Artifact
Figure 4: The image above is a scene from a St. Patrick’s Day parade. The inflatable leprechaun is a symbol often associated with the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.
Interpretation
Prognosis for St. Patrick's Day
St. Patrick’s Day is increasing in popularity. When it was first established, it was only celebrated by Catholics in Ireland. Now, however, it has become a worldwide celebration of the Irish culture. And now that globalization has taken its course and the annual St. Patrick’s Day Festival has been established, the holiday is more popular than ever with crowds in Dublin reaching 300,000 in numbers on St. Patrick’s Day (The Canadian Press, 2003).
Conclusion
St. Patrick's Day is an important cultural celebration that has grown immensely over the past few centuries. It went from being a local religious celebration of a patron saint in Ireland, to a phenomenal worldwide celebration of the Irish culture. St. Patrick's Day has undergone the effects of globalization, and this is most evident in the establishment of the St. Patrick's Day parade that has many American influences. Today, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in many counties all over the world by all different kinds of people. It is no longer just a day of celebration for a saint, and people from all over look forward to and celebrate this holiday with light hearts and high spirits.
Internet References Cited
St. Patrick’s Day Festival. October 21, 2004. http://www.stpatricksday.ie/cms/index.html .This is the official website of the St. Patrick's Day parade that was established in Dublin, Ireland in 1996.
Mullen, Paul. 2000. October 21, 2004 http://www.ireland.co.za/. This is the Irish South African Association website that provides some information on Ireland and events taking place in Ireland.
The World Factbook. October 21, 2004. http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ei.html. The World Factbook is a website that provides basic information on countries all over the world.
The History Channel. The History of St. Patrick's Day. October 21, 2004.http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/stpatricksday/history/ The History channel website gives a brief description on the history of St. Patrick's Day.
Encyclopedia Britannica Online. November 14, 2004. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocId=9344667 This is where I got the definition of globalization.
http://www.northshoreirish.com/ This is the image of a St. Patrick's Day parade.
Pogatchnik, Shawn. The Canadian Press. 2003. November 15, 2004 http://www.cp.org/premium/online/commercial/World/030317/w031794A.html. This is an article describing the annual St. Patrick's Day parade celebrated in Dublin.
Peer-Reviewed References Cited
Cronin, Mike, Adair, and Daryl.
2002. The Wearing of the Green, A History of St. Patrick’s Day. Routledge: London and New York
Landau, Elaine.
2002. St. Patrick’s Day, Parades, Shamrocks and Leprechauns. Enslow Publishers, Inc. New Jersey.
Turner, Victor and Edith.
1983. Religious Celebrations. Celebrations. Washington, D.C. Smithsonian Institution Press. 203-204.
McCormack, Bridget.
2000. Perceptions of St. Patrick in Eighteenth-Century Ireland. Portland, Oregon. Four Courts Press Ltd. 69
Howard, Therasa.
2004. Guinness Gets Irish Feelings Flowing. USA Today. March 8, 2004.