St. Patrick's Day aka "Patrick's Feast Day" is a cultural and religious festival celebrated on March 17, the death anniversary of St. Patrick. On Saint Patrick's Day, a holiday is declared in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Newfoundland and Labrador Territories of Canada and the British Territory Montserrat. The festival is also celebrated by people of Irish descent spread all over the world. In recent years the manner of celebrating the festival has been criticized for spreading the lewd stereotype of the Irish people.

Patrick was a fifth-century Roman-British Christian missionary and Irish bishop. Much of what is known about him comes mainly from Declaration, which is said to have been written by Patrick. Patrick Pagan is believed to have gone back to Ireland to convert Irish people to Christianity. According to the Declaration, Patrick did the same thing for many years in Northern Ireland and got thousands of people into Christianity.

  1. Colouring the River Green: Did you know that one of the popular traditions includes dyeing rivers green on St. Patrick's Day. The Chicago River has been dyed green on St. Patrick's Day for decades now. Of course, non-toxic dyes are used like powdered vegetable dyes

  2. The World's Biggest Shamrock: Another major tradition of St. Patrick's Day is that the Irish capital of Nebraska, a giant four-leaf clover is painted in the middle of the road where Route 281 and Highway 20 meet.

  3. On this special day, it is a tradition to eat Irish food like corned beef, cabbage, and soda bread.

  4. What's St. Patrick's Day Feast Without a Cold Pint:  The feast is often accompanied by beer. Some beer in the U.S. is often dyed green for the holiday.

According to traditional beliefs, Patrick died on March 17 and his body was buried in a Downpatrick. After death, many legends related to Patrick's life were born and he was considered the supreme saint of Ireland.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 15, 2021 07:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).