How do people celebrate and where do people go to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day? What to wear, the facts and some great traditions are listed below for March 17.
It is that time of year when we apply our fresh coat of green and go forth to proclaim our heritage to the world. Here are some of the best ways to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day in America and in Ireland in 2019.
Celebrate St Patrick's Day with a Guinness.
1. Grab a glass of Guinness or a fifth of Irish whiskey and sit down with “The Quiet Man,” the best Irish American movie ever made.
2. Read “How the Irish Saved Civilization” by Thomas Cahill, the perfect introduction to the incredible impact of the Irish worldwide.
3. Slap on a CD of “Riverdance” or ”Lord of the Dance” and enjoy one of Ireland’s greatest cultural gifts to the world.
Read more: WATCH: How to make Irish soda bread for St. Patrick's Day
Celebrate St Patrick's Day in New York with the parade. Image: iStock.
4. March in a parade and glory in the memory of those millions who marched before and made it possible for such Irish pride to endure.
5. Take your wife or beloved out to an Irish pub with music and craic and soak in the unique atmosphere – Guinness and Irish whiskey also help the heart relax.
6. Read some poetry by William Butler Yeats, perhaps the world’s great poet. I heartily recommend “The Song of Wandering Aengus" or “Easter 1916.”
Read more: Which food has a massive shipment surge around Saint Patrick’s Day?
7. Go to the 1901 or 1911 Irish census online and see if you can trace loved ones before they left for America. Equally, Griffith’s Valuations goes right back to the famine
8. Guinness stew or corned beef and cabbage makes it feel like a very special Irish day.
9. The faith of our fathers. Attend a mass and reconnect with those generations before you who placed religion at the very center of their lives.
10. If you are up for it read “The Great Hunger” By Cecil Woodham Smith, the definitive work on The Great Famine. You will understand the lives of your forefathers much better.
Do you have any other ideas on how to celebrate the day? Let us know.
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*Originally published March 2012
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