St Patrick's Day

Facts, traditions & the best beers to celebrate

What is St Patrick's Day?

St Patrick's Day pays homage to St Patrick, one of Ireland's beloved patron saints. He was responsible for ministering Christianity in Ireland during the fifth century. The St. Patrick's Day tradition began as a Roman Catholic feast day, honouring this patron saint, held on the day of his death. 

Although originally an Irish holiday, it was those who had emigrated to the United States who transformed St Patrick’s Day into a feasting day and holiday of revelry in the 1700s. The first St Patrick’s Day parade was held in Boston in 1737. Since then, it has evolved into a celebration of Irish food, music, dancing, drinking and as much green as possible!

When is St Patrick's Day?

St Patrick's Day is celebrated annually on March 17th to commemorate the death of Saint Patrick, who is believed to have passed away on that day in the year 461 AD. 

What are the best St Partick's Day beers?

To celebrate St Patrick’s Day in true Irish style, you need a quintessentially Irish beer. Guinness and Murphy’s are internationally recognised Irish stouts, dark in colour, silky smooth and almost no bitterness with a mouth-watering creamy finish. 

For those of you that aren't the biggest stout fans, there is another way to make your beer choice festive: make it green! While it sounds like you will need to go make a deal with a wizard to make this, luckily there's a much cheaper way. There is no magic, no alchemy, no swanky mixologist needed to make green beer, all it requires is a light-coloured beer and some green food colouring. Don’t worry, it won’t affect the taste, it will just make it emerald green. 

Alternatively, you can celebrate with one of these green labelled beers for your SUB, BeerTender or BLADE. 

Explore our recommendations for lager and pilsner for even more inspiration, or go for darker beers (although you won't get that vibrant green colour). Just add one teaspoon of green food colouring to your brew for the perfect St Patrick's Day beer.

What are some St Patrick's Day traditions?

Traditionally, those who celebrated Christian holidays held huge feasts to commemorate St Patrick. Other traditions include wearing green clothing, parades, featuring bagpipers and Irish dancers (particularly in Ireland and cities with large Irish communities) and religious services and cultural events, like Irish music and dance performances. Additionally, the day is marked by the display of shamrocks, symbolising the Holy Trinity, and the search for hidden leprechauns, mythical creatures from Irish folklore.

Why is St Patrick's Day green?

The colour green has been linked to Ireland for centuries. It represents the lush landscapes of the country and is often associated with the famous luck of the Irish.

St Patrick is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leafed green plant, to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) while spreading Christianity in Ireland. This is said to have led to the adoption of green as a symbol of both Ireland and St. Patrick's Day celebrations. Over time, people began wearing green clothing and accessories on St. Patrick's Day as a way to honor Irish heritage and embrace the festive spirit of the holiday.

Facts about St. Patrick you probably didn't know

As we've learned, he's celebrated around the world, but what else is there to know about the famous man?

St Patrick wasn't actually Irish

Despite being the patron saint of Ireland, St Patrick wasn't actually born in Ireland. He was born in Britain (either Scotland or Wales), likely in the late 4th century.

St Patrick was kidnapped by pirates

When he was around 16 years old, St. Patrick was kidnapped by pirates and taken to Ireland as a slave, where he worked as a shepherd. During his time in captivity, St. Patrick turned to Christianity. After six years in captivity, he managed to escape and return to his family.

No, St Patrick probably didn't get rid of all the snakes in Ireland

Legend has it that St. Patrick banished all the snakes from Ireland. Although, there is no evidence that snakes ever existed in the country since the last Ice Age.

St Patrick wore blue, not green

Really! In all surviving artworks of St Patrick, we see him wearing blue robes. Over time, however, green as a national colour became the more popular choice.

St. Patrick's cathedral

The legendary patron saint is buried at Down Cathedral in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland. Not to be mistaken for St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, which is not his burial site but an equally prominent landmark.