St Patrick's Day Bears and a little history

I finished my very first ever St Patrick's Day bears the other day!!! I'd never had any desire for some reason to make anything for this particular holiday, even though my maiden name "Brady" is one of the most popular Irish names. A really great customer asked me to make some pieces, so I decided I was up for the challenge. I'm so glad I did, they turned out just darling! Now of course I'm hooked...I made 2 bears and 2 mixed media pieces and of course I'm working on more. I dyed one of the bears a nice old green color, found some cute fabrics and went to work. I've added a new holiday to create bears for and gained new artist expression. I also decided to give you a little history about St Patrick's Day, since I knew little about it myself. It's always exciting to learn something new.

The History of the Holiday
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years.
On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink, and feast—on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place not in Ireland, but in the United States. Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City on March 17, 1762. Along with their music, the parade helped the soldiers to reconnect with their Irish roots, as well as fellow Irishmen serving in the English army.

In 1848, several New York Irish aid societies decided to unite their parades to form one New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade. Today, that parade is the world 's oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States, with over 150,000 participants.

Today, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by people of all backgrounds in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Although North America is home to the largest productions, St. Patrick's Day has been celebrated in other locations far from Ireland, including Japan, Singapore, and Russia.
In modern-day Ireland, St. Patrick's Day has traditionally been a religious occasion. In fact, up until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17. Beginning in 1995, however, the Irish government began a national campaign to use St. Patrick's Day as an opportunity to drive tourism and showcase Ireland to the rest of the world. Last year, close to one million people took part in Ireland 's St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin, a multi-day celebration featuring parades, concerts, outdoor theater productions, and fireworks shows.

Information taken from the History.com website.