March Issue
By Maggie Meacham, Francie Beck and Greta Haroldson /Sports Editor, Opinion Reporter and Features Editor
Across the United States, there is a universal truth: we all must wear green on March 17. All American schoolchildren can describe the traditions of St. Patrick’s Day: hiding leprechauns, picking clovers and threatening to pinch any unfortunate soul who forgot the date. And yet, despite over 200 million Americans celebrating this holiday every year, few know of the deep cultural significance behind it.
Asked if she knew the history of St. Patrick’s Day, Harpeth Hall junior Annalise Cash said, “Not exactly, but I know that it originates in Ireland.” This trend isn’t unique to Nashville — according to a survey by Ask Your Target Market, only 65% of Americans who celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in 2024 were familiar with the story of Irish missionary St. Patrick.
Graphic by Aza Scheele
St. Patrick’s Day originated in Ireland with St. Patrick, a formerly enslaved saint. Born in Rome and living during the 5th century, St. Patrick was kidnapped in his teens and sent to work in Ireland. There, he spread the message of Christianity, using the three leaves of the shamrock, a type of clover, as an analogy for the Christian trinity. He is known for having opened churches and monasteries around the country and, according to legend, banishing all the snakes from Ireland. He has been celebrated on St. Patrick’s Day since as a sanctified Christian figure.
Why, then, do so many Americans celebrate a holiday based on the story of an Irish saint? The tale begins with the 13 original colonies, at a time when Irish immigrants made their first cultural stamp on the United States. Along with many other cultural traditions, the Irish brought with them the story of St. Patrick, and the holiday soon became a staple American tradition. While most Americans adapted St. Patrick’s Day into a celebration of all things green and alcoholic, Irish Catholics have an entirely different perspective on the meaning behind St. Patrick’s story.
“For Irish Catholics, it’s a day of recognizing who Saint Patrick was and what he did, and especially how he taught the Holy Trinity to the Irish people through the clover,” said junior Hope Ragsdale, Class of 2027, reflecting on her own family’s traditions. “In America though, it just seems like a party. It’s fun, but I think it’s important to understand what the holiday means to the Irish people.”
The party culture behind St. Patrick’s Day may be a symptom of a common trend in the United States: the commercialization of holidays, particularly those of foreign origin. Nearly every major American holiday has been critiqued for its focus on profit over tradition. Take Cinco de Mayo, for example: the holiday is only observed in the small region of Puebla, Mexico, yet countless Americans celebrate it under the misconception that the holiday commemorates Mexican independence.
As Americans, it’s important that we reckon with the cultural history behind our most celebrated holidays. The traditions behind many holidays have been lost to commercialization, yet cultural significance is what makes holidays worth celebrating. The next time you put on a green shirt or pick up a Shamrock Shake, think about the path through history that brought this tradition to the United States. Tradition is all around us — don’t forget it.
