St. Patrick's Day Festivities

St. Patrick's Day Festivities All over the world, everything tends to look just a bit greener on March 17. The cause of this is one familiar celebration many of us take part in; St. Patrick's Day. Not only is it celebrated in Ireland where it is the national holiday, but in many places in multiple ways...

In Ireland, the St. Patrick's Day celebrations began on March 13, 2008 with the beginning of a vivacious celebration lasting until March 17. The five day festival will contain over 4,000 performers leading up to the world famous Irish St. Patrick's day parade on Monday night to conclude the festive occasion.

Ireland isn't the only place holding parades and festivals. In Chicago, Illinois on March 15, 2008, the Chicago river was dyed to be vibrant shades of emerald green, as it has been annually for the past 40 years. Thousands gathered at the river to watch the river's color transform, and many also watched the parade that same day and the hundreds of floats exhibited in it.

Pittsburgh also had a St. Patrick's Day parade, which was viewed by over 260,000 people. making it the second largest St. Patrick's Day parade in the United States, second only to New York. Leading the parade was Hillary Clinton, walking with several other people.

In Sydney, Australia, a large St. Patrick's Day parade was held on March 16, 2008 complete with floats, Irish bands, dancers as well as thousands of people sporting green clothing, hair and apparel showing their Irish spirit. Sydney is home to one of the largest and most popular St. Patrick's Day parades in the world.

St. Patrick's Day was the subject of a bit of controversy this year, due to the fact that for the first time since the 1940s, St. Patrick's Day fell during the Holy Week before Easter. Catholic tradition mandates that no other saints be celebrated during this week, which caused many celebrations to be moved from the traditional date of March 17, to an earlier date to avoid religious conflicts. The date was not changed in Ireland however, where the national holiday remained March 17 as always.

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