St. Patrick’s Day is a celebration which is held every year on March 17 and it is the traditional death date of Saint Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland.
Saint Patrick’s Day became an official Christian feast day during the 17th century and it is celebrated by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Lutheran Church.
The day also commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland and also celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general.
Christians who are from liturgical denominations also attend church services and historically the Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol were lifted for the day, which was encouraged and propagated the tradition of consuming alcohol.
It is considered a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and also on the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The holiday is also celebrated at the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat and is commonly celebrated in places like UK, Canada, US, South Africa and others.
The occasion is celebrated in more countries compared to any other national festival and this is not so common in most of the occasions.
The modern celebrations are mostly inspired from the Irish diaspora and mainly the ones that developed in North America. But it has been criticized for being too commercial and for fostering negative stereotypes of the Irish people.