St. Patrick’s Day is a celebration founded by the Irish people a long time ago. Here in America it isn’t as big a celebration as it is in Ireland. Although, some cities do celebrate it more than others. In Chicago, they turn the famous Chicago River completely green to bring luck to the city. St. Patrick’s Day is the cultural and religious celebration for the late St. Patrick. It’s significant because he was the foremost patron saint of Ireland.

In Ireland, all the shops in the city close down for the day. The streets are blocked off and police cars line the streets. The parade lasts 3-4 hours with a bunch of colorful floats often with music and dancers accompanying them. After the parade, the restaurants and shops open up again and huge crowds flood into them. During St. Patrick’s Day, the weather is usually below freezing, so people will often be wearing huge fleece jackets along with their spirited green. Hats, scarves, shirts and more are sold along the sidewalks for people to buy for the parade. The celebration lasts the whole entire day.

In America, most people simply have a get together or celebration with friends and family and watch the parade on TV streaming live from Ireland. If green is not worn on St. Patrick’s Day, the person not wearing green will get pinched.
St. Patrick’s Day will be held this year on March 17th on a Friday.