Give Local America Day 2024 is on Monday, May 6, 2024: Saint Pat's day question . . . [plz answer if you know it!!]?

Monday, May 6, 2024 is Give Local America Day 2024. Fundraise: A Giving Day‎ Quickly raise money with a 24-hour online drive. Inspire more to give.

1737

Irish colonists brought Saint Patrick's Day to what is now the United States of America. The first civic and public celebration of Saint Patrick's Day in the 13 colonies took place in Boston, Massachusetts in 1737.[19] During this first celebration The Charitable Irish Society of Boston organized what was the first Saint Patrick's Day Parade in the colonies on 17 March 1737.[20] The first celebration of Saint Patrick's Day in New York City was held at the Crown and Thistle Tavern in 1756,[21] and New York's first Saint Patrick's Day Parade was held on 17 March 1762 by Irish soldiers in the British Army. In 1780, General George Washington, who commanded soldiers of Irish descent in the Continental Army, allowed his troops a holiday on 17 March. This event became known as The St. Patrick's Day Encampment of 1780.[20] Today, Saint Patrick's Day is widely celebrated in America by Irish and non-Irish alike.

The longest-running Saint Patrick's Day celebrations in the U.S. are:

Boston, Massachusetts, since 1737

New York City, since 1756

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since 1771

Morristown, New Jersey, since 1780

Buffalo, New York, since 1811

Savannah, Georgia, since 1813

Carbondale, Pennsylvania, since 1833

Chicago, Illinois, since 1843

New Haven, Connecticut, since 1845

San Francisco, California, since 1852

Scranton, Pennsylvania, since 1862

Cleveland, Ohio, since 1867

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, since 1869[22]

Kansas City, Missouri, since 1873

Butte, Montana, since 1882

Rolla, Missouri, since 1908

Savannah, Georgia

Savannah, GA, boasts the unofficial largest attendance with 750,000 in 2006. Unlike other cities, the parade in Savannah takes place on the actual day of Saint Patrick's Day; even if that day is during the work week. However for 2008, the parade will take place on Friday, March 14th, to honor Holy week in the Catholic faith. [23] The parade starts at Saint John the Baptist Catholic Cathedral on Abercorn Street. The actual parade route changes from year to year but usually travels through Savannah's Historic Park District and Bay Street. Usual participants in the parade include the local Armed Forces Units, Cadets from Benedictine Military School, and other local organizations, officials, and establishments. In 2006, the Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland was featured in the parade. Since the parade travels through Savannah's Historic Park District, one tradition that has developed has been the official "dyeing of the fountains" which happens several days before the parade. It has also become tradition for women spectators to kiss the Armed Forces Units and other military organization's male members.

The parade is not Savannah's only St. Patrick's day attraction. The Savannah Waterfront Association has an annual celebration on Historic River Street that is reminiscent of Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street. There is no cover charge to access River Street, but a $5 wristband is required if one chooses to drink there.[24] Savannah does not have an open container law so there is a proliferation of alcohol on River Street, Bay Street and in City Market.

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana, the parades include the influence of New Orleans Mardi Gras, with float riders throwing spectators strings of beads, cabbages, and potatoes. Perhaps the smallest notable parade World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade, is said to take place in Hot Springs, Arkansas in the United States annually held on historic Bridge Street which became famous in the 1940s when Ripley’s Believe It or Not designated it “The Shortest Street in the World.” Boulder, Colorado claims to have the shortest parade, which is also less than a single city block.[citation needed]

Syracuse, New York

In the city of Syracuse, NY, Saint Patrick's celebrations are traditionally begun with the delivery of green beer to Coleman's Irish Pub on the first Sunday of March. Coleman's is located in the Tipperary Hill section of the city. Tipperary Hill is home to the World famous "Green-on-Top" Traffic Light and is historically the Irish section in Syracuse. Saint Patrick's Day is wrung in at Midnight with the painting of a Shamrock under the Green-Over-Red traffic light. Syracuse boasts the largest St. Patrick's day celebration per-capita in the United States.

New York City

The New York parade has become the largest Saint Patrick's Day parade in the world.[20] In 2006 more than 150,000 marchers participated in it, including bands, firefighters, military and police groups, county associations, emigrant societies, and social and cultural clubs, and it was watched by close to 2 million spectators lining the streets. The parade marches up 5th Avenue in Manhattan and is always led by the U.S. 69th Infantry Regiment. New York politicians - or those running for office - are always found prominently marching in the parade.[25] Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch once proclaimed himself "Ed O'Koch" for the day,[19] and he continues to don an Irish sweater and march every year, even though he is no longer in office. In a similar fashion, new New York state governor Eliot Spitzer marched in and even visited the morning Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral for the 2007 parade.

The parade is organized and run by the Ancient Order of Hibernians.[citation needed] For many years, the St. Patrick's Day Parade was the primary public function of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. On occasion the order has appointed controversial Irish republican figures (some of whom were barred from the U.S.) to be its Grand Marshal.[citation needed]

While it is a popular misconception that the St. Patrick's Day Parade bans 'lesbians and gays', the fact is that essentially all politically motivated groups, including pro-life groups, are banned from the Parade in an effort to keep politics out of a festive community celebration. Gays and lesbians are welcome to be in the Parade as members of any of the groups allowed.

The New York parade is moved to the previous Saturday (16 March) in years where 17 March is a Sunday. The event is also moved on the rare occasions when, due to Easter falling on a very early date, 17 March would land in Holy Week. This same scenario is scheduled to arise again in 2008, when Easter will also fall on 23 March, but the festivities will go on at their normal date [10]. In many other American cities (such as San Francisco), the parade is always held on the Sunday before 17 March, regardless of the liturgical calendar.

Scranton, Pennsylvania

Due to the rich history of Scranton participation in St. Paddy's Day festivities it is one of the oldest and most populated parades in the United States. It has been going on annually since 1862 by the St. Patrick's Day Parade Association of Lackawanna County and the parade has gotten attention nationally as being one of the better St. Patrick's Day parades. The parade route begins on Wyoming Ave. and loops up to Penn Ave. and then Lackawanna Ave. before going back down over Jefferson Ave. to get to Washington Ave. Scranton hosts the fourth largest St. Patrick's Day Parade in the United States. In 2003, more than 100,000 people lined the parade route throughout the downtown.

Seattle, Washington

Due to Seattle's northern state climates, like Ireland, the city received many Irish immigrants. So many that Seattle and Galway are sister cities. Every year on St. Patrick's Day, the Seattle Parade starting at 4th Avenue and Jefferson to the Reviewing Stand at Westlake Park, ending officially at the Seattle Center. The annual Irish Week Festival is enormous, including irsh step dancing, food, historical and modern exhibitions, and Irish lessons. This is all celebrated on March 14. And may be carried on till the 15, 16, and 17 of March.

Las Vegas, Nevada

The Southern Nevada, (formerly Las Vegas) Sons of Erin has put on a parade since 1966. It was formerly held on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas, later moved to 4th street. Since 2005, the parade has been held in downtown Henderson. It is one of the biggest parades in the state of Nevada. It also consists of a three day festival, carnival and classic car show in Old Town Henderson.

Baseball

Although the baseball season is still in the spring training phase when St. Patrick's Day rolls around, some teams celebrate by wearing St. Patrick's Day themed uniforms. The Cincinnati Reds were the first team to ever wear St. Patrick's Day hats in 1978. The Boston Red Sox were the second team to start wearing St. Patrick's Day hats in 1990[26]. In 2004 the Red Sox were the first team to wear jerseys specially designed for St. Patrick's day[27]. Since then it has become a tradition of many sports teams to also wear special uniforms to celebrate the holiday. The Los Angeles Dodgers also have a history with the Irish-American community. With the O'Malley family owning the team and now Frank McCourt, the Dodgers have had team celebrations or worn green jerseys on St. Patrick's Day.[28] The Philadelphia Phillies also wear St. Patrick's Day caps and jerseys.[29] Other teams celebrate by wearing kelly green hats these teams include: the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago White Sox, the New York Mets, the San Diego Padres, the Atlanta Braves, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Kansas City Royals, the Seattle Mariners and the St. Louis Cardinals[30].

Nearly all major league baseball teams now produce St. Patrick's day merchandise, including Kelly green hats, jerseys, and t-shirts. [31].

Food

Corned beef and cabbage is the most common meal eaten in the United States for St. Patrick's Day, even though historically, corned beef and cabbage is an American (rather than a traditionally Irish) meal.

In the United States

Why do people think America is a Christian county?

Does the U.S. local, state, federal government (including the U.S. military) close down for Buddha's birthday, Eid Mubarak, Ramadan, Vishnu's holy days, Feast of the Sheaves...etc, etc. Why do they only shut down for CHRISTIAN holidays? e.g. Christmas, Easter.

Why do schools shut down for SPRING BREAK.....WINTER BREAK? When I was in school those holidays were called EASTER VACATION.....CHRISTMAS VACATION. Just think, no Easter, no Christmas....no spring/winter breaks where you losers can take off and go get drunk, pregnant, get STDs, get killed, get arrested....and just act stupid.

When was the last time you got off for the week of Buddha's birthday? When did you get off for Ramadan, Hajj? I didn't think you did.

Nice try, but this question isn't original, just obnoxiously boring - like you.

Why do we celebrate Labor Day?

In America, Labor Day is celebrated the first Monday of each September. Because Labor Day creates a three-day weekend and is the last major holiday before the onset of autumn, it's generally seen as the last chance to enjoy the summer season.

When you think about, the kids are headed back to school (in recent years and in many areas, most kids have to return to school before Labor Day, but that's not how I remember it growing up) the baseball season is coming to a climax and football is about to start. In short, families have come to celebrate Labor Day by going to fairs or parades, having backyard barbecues, going to the beach or on a picnic, and generally doing those things they know will soon be impossible or impractical due to the shortening daylight hours and the ratcheting up of busy schedules.

The three-day Labor Day weekend can be a great opportunity to step away from your home business or work at home job, recharge your batteries and spend some quality time with your family.

Why Do We Celebrate Labor Day?

The original intent of Labor Day was to provide a holiday that would honor the social and economic achievements of American workers. Essentially, it was intended to be, and in may ways remains, an annual national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. But how did it come about?

There are some disputes about who originally thought of the idea of an annual Labor Day observance. According to the Department of Labor, there is some controversy over whether Labor Day originated as the idea of Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, or of Matthew Maguire, a machinist, who later became the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J. Isn't it ironic that both who are given credit for starting the Labor Day tradition have the same last name with a different spelling?

When was the First Labor Day?

According to the Department of Labor, the first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, according to the plans of New York's Central Labor Union. The second Labor Day followed a year later, on September 5, 1883. Labor Day wasn't part of a three-day weekend until 1884, when the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed by the Central Labor Union, who then urged other labor organizations in other cities to celebrate the holiday on the first Monday of September.

Making Labor Day a Legal Holiday

The first state to enact a bill that would eventually become law to celebrate Labor Day was Oregon on February 21, 1887. Other states jumped on the bandwagon, just a few at first, but more than half of the states adopted the holiday to honor America's workers by 1894. On June 28, 1984 the U.S. Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories. So the idea of a three-day Labor Day weekend was well in place across the U.S. over 100 years ago.

How We Celebrate Labor Day Now

While many still turn out to hear Labor Day speeches and attend parades, the focus of the American worker has turned more to celebrating a day off with family. Is that because labor unions have weakened in the U.S.? Quite possibly, but however you decide to celebrate Labor Day, have fun and take some time away from work to catch up with your family. Autumn fast approaches, and along with it the shorter days and increasing responsibilities of our jobs, our kids and school activities.

Like other holidays, if you have a home business and have been nudging your family aside to pursue your dreams, the three-day Labor Day weekend is a chance to reconnect with your loved ones. Maybe you can take a weekend getaway, or maybe you'd prefer to stay closer to home and avoid the traffic and crowds.

Whatever you decide to do, try to take some time out to help get your work and family life back in balance. Three-day weekends don't come along that often, and we should be thankful that our predecessors and ancestors were determined to make it happen.