by Sabrina Martin

Created on: March 14, 2009   Last Updated: March 15, 2009

If you were in Ireland on St. Patrick's Day, what might you find? Colorful floats moving down the streets of Dublin. Men in kilts marching with their tubas, trumpets, and bagpipes. Children with shamrocks painted on their bubbly cheeks. Men and women dressed in green, crowding the streets and pubs to watch the parade or enjoy a couple pints of Guinness.

Only recently however, has St. Patrick's Day become a holiday of such festive celebrations. In the past it was primarily a religious holy day. In fact, until 1970 all pubs were required to close on March 17th.

Today it's a different story. In many parts of Ireland the St. Patrick's Day celebrations have extended beyond March 17th. Dublin, for instance, hosts a week long celebration called "St. Patrick's Festival." It's also the city that showcases Ireland's largest St. Patrick's Day parade and fireworks show. Street theatres and charity shows have also become popular features of the week long festival.

The huge St. Patrick's Day celebrations attract not only the locals, but hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the world.

From the big cities to the lesser known villages across the country, Irish folk tunes spill out into the streets, rolling over the green hills while locals and tourists brave the weather as they sing and dance late into the night, gulping down green beer and whiskey. It's a time to take pride in and showcase the Irish heritage.

Of course, one of the greatest Irish traditions is the St. Patrick's Day feast, held every year on March 17th. Although the day usually falls during the fasting season of lent, huge feasts are enjoyed in the community as well as in the homes of Ireland's residents. Rather than corned beef and cabbage however, Irish bacon and cabbage are traditionally enjoyed.

Since St. Patrick's Day is a Roman Catholic holiday, many still honor the day's religious significance by attending mass, although it is not required.

Regardless of the reasons for celebrating St. Patrick's Day, there's no doubt that the holiday has become one of the largest and most appealing celebrations, not only in Ireland, but around the world. It seems that every where people want to experience their own piece of the Irish tradition. Although St. Patrick's Day is becoming a globally celebrated holiday, perhaps the only place to really get a taste of its true nature is to experience it first hand in the beloved land of St. Patrick himself.

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