St. Patricks Day Traditions
The great St Patrick’s day is a day to celebrate not only the patron Saint of Ireland, but everything there is to love about this beautiful country and its people too. There are a ton of traditions that come with the holiday, so here are some of our favourites.
Wearing Green
There is no better way to get into the celebratory festivities than through your clothes! Wearing green is the perfect way to honour St Patrick’s Day, with people dressing head to toe in all things green. The more outgoing the outfit the better! Get creative with sparkles, glitter, and different textures to make your all green outfit stand out amongst the crowd!
Pinching those not wearing green
According to tradition, since leprechauns cannot see the colour green, they cannot see those wearing it on St Patrick’s Day. So, if you’re not readily covered in the Irish colour, expect to get pinched by the leprechauns, or just those around you who came dressed for the occasion!
Celebratory drinks
It’s no secret a ton of drinking takes place on St Patrick’s day, with a reported five times more Guinness sold on this day in Ireland than any other day of the year. But, there are tons of options for your drink of choice! Get fancy by dying your beer green or trying a “Pot ‘O Gold” cocktail - the list is endless! Or keep it traditional with a classic Irish Guinness, you cannot go wrong.
Wearing the Shamrock
Another great addition to your St Patrick’s Day attire - the shamrock! Originally this was used as a cheap way to dress up for church services, but then became the national symbol for Ireland. People love to wear them on this special day to pay homage to their country. You can also decorate your home or workplaces with them too! There’s also another tradition being to drown the shamrock, at the end of the night place one in your final drink, to celebrate the end of the holiday.
Eat the traditional foods
There are a few traditional foods to try out - from corned beef and cabbage to soda bread - make sure you have worked yourself up quite an appetite! You can also take it back to the original Irish bacon (a form of cured pork) which was the original staple for this holiday, before the Irish Americans began eating corned beef instead as it was cheaper.
Attend a parade
Join the fun! Attend a parade or a “céili” to experience first hand the Irish dancing, music and joy of the people! This is where the most fun will be had.
We hope this list gives you some great ideas of things to do this St Patrick’s day. As a proudly British company, we are looking forward to celebrating the holiday of our neighbours.