It is now a global celebration of all things Irish, but we often get asked, what does a typical St. Patrick’s Day look like in Ireland? Or how do we mark St. Patrick’s Day the Irish way? Or what are some traditional Irish ways to mark St. Patrick's Day? Read on to get some answers:

1. Say Paddy not Patty

Well first things first, we should get the name straight. Irish people refer to it as St. Patrick’s Day, Patrick's Day, or Paddy’s Day, but never Patty’s Day!

Confused? Where do those D’s come from? It stems from the gaelic Padraig, the Irish for Patrick. Shortened, Padraig becomes Paddy with not a T to be seen!

To confuse things further, rather than it being a day of celebrations, the event in Ireland is anything from a 5-day to 2-week long, Island-wide festival. It started as a largely religious holiday and somewhat subdued day with a mass and a military parade. It has grown into a celebration complete with concerts, dances, parades, workshops, talks, tours, and fireworks! But I am getting ahead of myself!

2. Start with a filling breakfast fit for St. Patrick

It is a national holiday here in Ireland so many people have the day off work. So St. Patrick’s Day is traditionally started with a substantial breakfast that takes time to make and eat! We need to have energy for the events of the day! A full Irish breakfast used to be the thing with bread and lots of butter, but a decent bowl of porridge will do if we were minding our health!

3. Get Your St. Patrick’s Day Wardrobe Sorted

Depending on what plans are for the day and what Ireland’s notorious weather is up to, most of us will be opting for many layers, ideally the outer one being waterproof! Here's myself, Jane and the family getting ready for St. Patrick's celebrations last year.

Most will also make sure to have at least a pop of green and a shamrock or two, a symbol if the saint and of Ireland. Given the need to wrap up, accessories are often a popular option. Whether it's a green hat or scarf, a sprig of shamrock pinned to our coats, or a subtle touch like a piece of green or shamrock jewellery.

Irish kids and kids at heart might sport a shamrock or flag painted on their cheek and hope the rain plays along for the day!

But we typically don't wear head-to-toe green as it is seen as bad luck! Irish folklore tells us it attracts the Good People (fairies). And people, especially children, wearing all green are in danger of being spirited away! A good incentive to keep it tasteful if every there was one!

4. Remember the Reason for the season - St. Patrick

Numbers are down, but for many St. Patrick’s day kicks off with a visit their home church. With the national holiday, it is a real community gathering where the shamrock is blessed and hymns like “Hail Glorious St Patrick” are sung with gusto.

5. Worship at Modern Day Cathedral and Watch (or Play) Irish Sport

We Irish have a great tradition of sport, with the GAA a fantastic example. The GAA club Championship finals were traditionally held in Croke Park each St. Patrick’s Day making for a fantastic spectacle with thousands of fans streaming into the city to cheer on their clubs. This event has shifted forward somewhat, but at GAA grounds around the country, local teams will be taking to the field on St. Patrick's day weekend to do battle.

And the entire island unites to cheer on the Irish Rugby teams with the final games of the Mens 6 nations rugby championship typically coinciding with our national holiday. Does that give us an unfair advantage? Maybe! We will be cheering on our Celtic Warriors, the men and women in green each time they play.

5. Attend the main event, the Parade

For most, the main event is heading to a parade. We may have come to the idea a little later than our Irish American cousins but we fully embrace it now! The biggest St. Patrick's day parade in the world is in Dublin, with large festivals in Galway, Cork and Belfast and parades in most every town around the island.

6. Don't Forget the Gaelic, Music and Dancing

Many will head to one of the hundreds of local parades which are always great fun and are often accompanied by events surrounding Seachtain na Gaeilge. It is a festival celebrating Irish language, food, music and song that sees the young and old take part in traditional music, sean nós singing and dancing.

7. Treat yourself

And for those that don't fancy the bustle of the crowd on St. Patrick's Day, we can always watch the parade on TV while tucking into tasty treats. Food and especially treats are typically consumed with gusto. On St. Patrick's Day it is acceptable to break the lent fast. A roast dinner with bacon, or lamb was traditional but these days we will find all sorts ladening an Irish table.

8. Drown the shamrock, but not too much!

Worldwide consumption of Guinness doubles on St Patrick’s Day with over 13 million pints consumed compared to an average day with 5.5 million pints! A good bit of that is certainly put away in Ireland! But these days, for most St Patrick's Day is about spending time with family and friends.

And despite the stereotype, the drink and St. Patrick’s Day didn’t always go together in Ireland! Irish pubs were actually prohibited from opening to mark the holy day of St. Patrick’s Day up until the 1970’s! A striking thought if you do raise a glass this St. Patrick’s day!

9. Spend time with friends and family

Because of the national holiday, St. Patrick's Weekend is a popular one in Ireland for weddings! Not surprising really when you think about it. It combines everything we Irish love about St. Patrick's Day - family, friends, good food, music, dancing and of course a few drinks! And everyone already has the day off!

10. Extend the wishes of the season

Finally and most importantly is to extend the blessings of the season to people you meet. Extending a cheery Beannachtaí na Féile Padraig Ort or Happy St Patrick's Day to you, is sure to bring a smile.

Happy St. Patrick's day from all at MIJ

But of course there is no one typical Irish St. Patrick's Day. Our traditions are more varied than the 40 shades of green and are constantly evolving with the influence of the global Irish and lovers of Irish culture worldwide.

Whatever you get up to, whether you celebrate like us here in Ireland or add your own tradition, from all of us here at My Irish Jeweler "Beannachtaí na Féile Padraig Ort", The Blessings of St. Patrick's Festival upon you!