March 17, 2022 – Happy St Patrick’s Day!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! In honor of the holiday, we’re talking about different Saint Paddy’s traditions.
Shamrocks became a symbol of St. Patrick’s Day because it was said to have been used by Saint Patrick to demonstrate the Holy Trinity in Ireland in the 5th century. It’s been used as a symbol of Ireland since the 18th century.
Ever wonder why we wear green on St. Patrick’s Day? Saint Patrick was traditionally shown wearing blue, not green. And when George III created the Order of St. Patrick, the official color was a sky blue called “St. Patrick’s Blue”. But the Irish began wearing green in a display of nationalism by 1641, when the country decided it no longer wanted to be controlled by Britain.
Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional meal on Saint Patrick’s Day. However, it wasn’t traditionally eaten in Ireland! Corned beef is made from brisket that goes through a lengthy curing process using large grains of salt, called “corns”, and a brine. The Irish didn’t usually eat corned beef, relying instead on salt pork (which is similar to bacon). When Irish immigrants settled in New York City in the 19th century, they found that beef was more available and less expensive than pork. It was sold by kosher butchers there. Cabbage was paired with the corned beef because it was one of the least expensive vegetables available at the time.
Rochester has quite the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, but the very first parade in honor of the holiday actually predates the founding of the country! It happened in Saint Augustine, Florida in 1601 and was organized by the Spanish colony’s vicar, who was Irish. Today, the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade is the biggest in the world, with 150,000 marchers and 2 million spectators lining the streets.
The city of Chicago has many traditions to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, the most famous of which is dyeing the Chicago River green. The Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Union Local 130 first dyed the river in 1962. The dye had been used to track pollution in the water, but they realized that the bright green color it made was perfect for St. Patrick’s Day. It takes around 60 pounds of dye to turn the river green, and it lasts for 24-48 hours.