Who doesn’t love Saint Patrick’s Day?
Now before sharing different holiday plan options, do you say Saint Paddy’s or Saint Patrick’s Day?
If you’re wondering about the spelling of Paddy, then I know you’re not Irish!
My Dad’s side is 100% Irish. So yes, I’m Irish.
We celebrate every year. Fun fact, I have Cottage Pie every year for my birthday.
It’s great that every March 17th you see green everywhere. However, do you know who Saint Patrick is?
Here is some background to who Saint Patrick is.
Let’s jump right in by sharing Saint Patrick was not Irish, he was born in England and was British.
This is a big deal, the Irish and British hated each other. If you didn’t know that, have you ever heard of the Potato famine?
He was held in an Irish prison after he was taken prisoner by Irish raiders from his home.
During his imprisonment, he was a Shepard and forced to be outside and alone often. This is where he found his faith and became a devout Christian.
His father was a Christian deacon, however, according to history.com, he did not seem to come from a religious family.
After six years, he escaped the prison he was kept and returned to England.
For the next fifteen years, he trained and growing his knowledge of Christianity.
After being an ordained priest, he returned to Ireland.
Ireland at the time practiced pagan worship.
He brought Christianity and widely spread it through the country.
He would later become known as the patron saint of Ireland.
The Catholic Church never declared him a saint, so that it was he is a patron saint of Ireland.
Due to pagan culture, the has a rich tradition to share oral legends and myths, a famous Irish fact or legend about him is, he drove all the snakes out of Ireland!
Side note, I HATE snakes, so I always enjoyed this fact.
Now, that is only a tidbit of who Saint Patrick is and why we celebrate him all these years later.
The reason for celebrating on March 17 is because he is believed to have died on March 17 460 A.D.
As I mentioned before, my family loves celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day.
There are many major celebrations throughout the United States.
Many people know about Chicago turning the rivers green for March.
Savannah, Georgia turns the fountains green as well.
According to this article last year, here are the 15 best St. Patrick Day parades in the world.
In the United States, the New York City parade is the 7th best parade.
The New York City Parade is great, however, the city is always insane.
If you want a quieter but a day full of people from people actually from Ireland, go to Pearl River, New York!
The parade will be March 22, 2020, at 1:30 PM!
Click here for the details about the parade.
After the parade, the area has many attractions from breweries or just local bars to get food if you don’t want to leave the area.
The Pearl River Saloon is one of my favorite spots.
If it’s a warm day they have an open space in the back that is a great oasis during the warm months.
They also recently added a rooftop bar that is only for people 25 and older.
Growler & Gill would be a great place if you are looking for something away from the crowd to grab food and drinks.
They have 24 taps they rotate regularly and you can get a growler filled with your choice of drink.
Gentle Giant Brewing is a newer location to Pearl River but it has amazing food and a wonderful selection of drinks.
On the day of the parade, they will have the Connolly Brothers Acoustic Trio playing. I’m sure that will help you get in the spirit of the Irish festivities.
Gentle Giant Brewery is located on N Main Street by the train station.
If you cross the main street of the town, W Central Ave, and turn on N Main Street, you can’t miss it!
My final location recommendation is Defiant Brewery.
Defiant Brewery is off W Central Ave next to the train station. You’ll have your selection of food and drinks to enjoy the day with family, friends, and making new friends!
I hope you have a wonderful Saint Paddy’s day!
Whether you are Irish or calling yourself Irish for the day, I hope you learned a bit about the wonderful person Saint Patrick was.