St. Patrick's Day Countdown: Traditional ways to mark the day

There are just a few days left in our countdown to St. Patrick's Day, with an offer and some fun facts for you each day until March 17th, with 17% off sitewide all weekend in honor of our national holiday.

It's a long weekend here in Ireland with the next few days packed with celebrations for our National holiday. 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? Of course, there is no single way to mark the day, but here are eleven traditions the team at My Irish Jeweler heartily endorses:

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 in the abbreviation? It stems from the gaelic Pádraig, the Irish for Patrick. Shortened, Pádraig becomes Paddy, with not a T to be seen! And though we know the term "Paddy" has been used as an insult in some parts, here in Ireland you will hear the day referred to as "Paddy's day" more often than not.

To confuse things further, rather than it being one day of celebrations, the event in Ireland is anything from a 5-day to 2-week long, Island-wide festival. It may have started as a largely religious holiday and even in the early 20th century, it was a somewhat subdued day with a mass and a military parade. These days it has grown into a celebration complete with concerts, dances, parades, workshops, talks, tours, and fireworks and this year we have a long weekend of fun to enjoy! 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 having the day off work, St. Patrick’s Day is traditionally started with a substantial breakfast that takes time both to make and to 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 - perhaps inspired by Patrick's prayers for food bringing forth a herd of wild pigs? 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. This year my youngest daughter will be marching in the local parade so we will be decked out in our finest for that!

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 ever there was one!

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

Numbers may be lower than in the past, but for many St. Patrick’s Day kicks off with a visit to 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’ll be cheering on our Celtic Warriors—the men and women in green—every 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 St Patrick's Day parades 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 Irish, Music, and Dancing

Many head to one of the hundreds of local parades which are always great fun and are typically 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 at home! Food, especially treats, is typically enjoyed with gusto on St. Patrick’s Day, as it has long been traditional to break the Lenten fast.

For those not familiar with the Christian practice of Lent, the 40 days form Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday are days where someone observing lent would typically do without something they like- say chocolate or Guinness! St. Patrick's Day typically falls in the middle of this period, so its a welcome break from the "fast." A roast dinner with bacon, or lamb was also traditional but these days we will find all sorts ladening an Irish table.

8. Drown the shamrock, but not too much!

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

Despite the stereotype, drinking and St. Patrick’s Day weren’t always linked 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. Go on a hike!

If you prefer a more active celebration, one of the oldest St. Patrick’s Day traditions is venturing into nature to visit Ireland’s many sacred sites—a sort of pilgrimage to places closely linked to the saint himself. There are multiple spots around Ireland associated with St. Patrick to fit the bill, with these spots seeing plenty of visitors each March 17th. One of the most popular is Croagh Patrick in County Mayo - where legend says St. Patrick conducted his own 40 day lenten style fast before banishing the snakes from Ireland!

It is a steep climb to the summit but well worth it for the views and the time out to think! So a hike or walk in nature in your own local area for those that find themselves outside Ireland on the 17th would be an excellent way to mark the day, very much in keeping with old Irish traditions.

10. Spend time with friends and family

Because of the national holiday, and the break in lent, St. Patrick's Weekend has always been 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!

Wedding or not, many in Ireland spend the day with family and friends—at parties big or small, at a parade, concert, or dance, out on a hike, or at home enjoying food and watching an Irish movie.

Irish cinema and Irish actors have been going from strength to strength of late. So the list of Irish movies worth a look is growing! Cinema is an easy way to immerse yourself in Ireland of the past and present, especially if you don't find yourself in Ireland on St. Patrick's Day. And if you want to see real Irish stories, documentaries like His & Hers, the Irish Pub, or Older than Ireland are all charming and well worth a look.

11. 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 Pádraig 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 Pádraig Ort", The Blessings of St. Patrick's Festival upon you!

What's Next?

Check back tomorrow for our penultimate entry - Day 16 of our St. Patrick's Day countdown, or open Door Number 15 of our 17 Days of celebratory offers! And don't forget there is 17% off sitewide this weekend for St. Patrick's Day.