Happy St Patrick's Day !
St. Patrick's day is one of those holidays that everyone loves but might not be quite sure how it all started.
Lá Fhéile Pádraig - or the Day of the Festival of St. Patrick - is a cultural or religious celebration which is on the 17th of March, which is the date notes as the traditional death date of St. Patrick (ad 385-461) , the foremost patron saint of Ireland. But the day not only celebrates the arrival of Christianity into Ireland, but celebrates Irish culture and heritage in general.
St. Patrick's Day in London emerged after the end of World War II and it was through St. Patrick's day that members of the Irish Country Associations would meet up with their fellow county ex-pats and walk behind their county banners, celebrating their Irish identity. So it's very likely that Clementine would have enjoyed the first of the St. Patrick's day parades, or even Sam as a toddler!
It's from this tradition that our Irish Day Parades today have evolved. I am from Chicago originally, and the city dyes the Chicago River green to celebrate the day. It's the one day of the year when we are all a little Irish !
Happy St. Patrick's Day !
x 
