Why We Celebrate St.Patrick's Day

St Patrick's Day is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated on the 17th of March, and named in honour of the patron saint of Ireland. The festival commemorates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, as well as celebrating Irish heritage and culture. St Patricks Day is now celebrated by many people throughout the world, Irish and non-Irish alike, with food, drink and all things green.

St Patrick's Day has been observed as a religious festival in Ireland for over a thousand years, though it was only recognised as a celebration of Irish culture and heritage in the 1970's. The day is named in honour of St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, who has been credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. St Patrick's actual name was Maewyn Succat who was kidnappped and sold into slavery at the age of 16 years old and to help him endure the enslavement he turned to God.

Six years after his capture, St Patrick escaped to France where he became a priest, and then the second bishop to Ireland where he spent the next 30 years establishing schools, churches and monasteries across the country. It is thought that St Patrick used a shamrock as a metaphor for the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) showing how three individual units could be part of the same body. His parishioners began wearing shamrocks to his church services. Today the wearing of green on St Patrick's Day represents spring, shamrocks and Ireland.

Here are a few tips on how to decorate for St Patrick's Day:

1. Focus on St Patrick's Day colours such as green, white and orange. Get an Emerald Green Tablecover and napkins and some green, white and orange balloons, some Pumpkin Orange Paper Plates and some Ireland Bunting.
2. Set up the table full of green food and drinks. Adding a few drops of green food colouring to any food will give you the right look. Green beer and green cakes are all traditional St Patrick's Day delights.
3. Buy some shamrock confetti and use it to decorate by spreading it on the tables. Play some traditional Irish songs to enhance the mood and get the people having craic.
4. Decorate the house with some St Patrick's Day Decorations like St Patrick's Swirl Decorations, Shamrock Tinsel you won't be stuck for choice at PartyWorld

What to Wear for St Patrick's Day?

Again green is the way to go for St Patrick's Day. Lads and Lassies alike can get into the spirit of St Patricks by breaking out a St Patricks Costume or an Irish Leprechaun Costume. If you are not into wearing costumes you can simply accessorise with a wee little Leprechaun Top Hat or go all out with our hilarious Irish Tankard Hat and if that's not enough then check out our cheap and cheerful Paddy Hat. And don't forget our Irish Leis Decoration, these make perfect welcoming gifts for all your party guests.

Now how about some St Patrick's day activities:

1. Put on a CD of traditional Irish Songs and print out the lyrics for your guests so they can sing along to the old classics like Danny Boy.
2. Hand out paper and pens and give your guests five minutes to write an old Irish saying, then read them aloud in your best Irish accents.
3. If you're the adventurous type, send your guests on a treasure hunt for a wee pot of gold. Before the guests arrive, hide your treasure (gold chocolate coins are perfect for this) in a small black bucket, then have your guests search for it with hidden clues guiding them on their way. This is one that the kids will love.

Remember St Patrick's Day parties are always great fun and setting the theme properly is important. Here at PartyWorld, we have everything you need from Irish Flags to St Patrick's Day Decorations to help make your Irish Party come alive and get your guests ready to dance a wee jig.