Every year on March 17th, the Irish, Irish at heart and people from across the globe celebrate St Patrick’s Day. What started as a religious feast day has now grown and become an international festival of celebration of Irish culture with parades, lots of food, dancing, lots of green and LOTS of Irish beer! Some people only know St Patrick’s Day for being a day where the Irish all go out and drink loads of Guinness. But believe it or not, St Patrick’s Day (or the Feast of St Patrick) is still celebrated as a religious event, as well as a cultural one.
Did you know that St Patrick was a 5th century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland? According to Declaration, at the age of sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Gaelic Ireland where he spent six years working there as a shepherd and during his time there he is known to have “found God”. The Declaration says that God told Patrick to flee to the coast, where a ship would be waiting for him to take him home. After making his way home, Patrick became a priest.
Tradition holds that he eventually died on March 17th and following many centuries, many legends grew up around St Patrick and he became one of Ireland’s foremost saint.
Over the years, St Patrick’s celebrations have become worldwide traditions amongst Irish people or just Irish lovers. Celebrations normally include public parades and festivals, traditional Irish music sessions and the wearing of green. More recently, famous landmarks have turned green on St Patrick’s Day to celebrate and Christians attend church services.
So why green? Why do the Irish wear green on St Patrick’s Day? It is customary to wear shamrocks on St Patrick’s Day and/or green clothing and accessories, which is also known as “the wearing of the green”. The colour green has been associated with Ireland since the 1640’s, when the green harp flag was used by the Irish Catholic Confederation. Green ribbons and shamrocks have been worn on St Patrick’s Day since at least the 1680’s, therefore the colour green has been associated with Ireland since.
When it comes to promotional branding, we love adding something different to products that people have never thought of before. Whether you’re celebrating St Patrick’s Day or not, you can get the luck of the Irish by adding the colour green to your promotional products. We’ve previously done branded St Patrick’s Day hats, glasses and even beer bottle holders for the special event. AT BMT, we love a good celebration!
If you want to add the luck of the Irish to your promotional products, or you just really love the colour green, have a look at our catalogue or give us a ring for a free quote on 01933 409489.
