Every March 17th Ireland celebrates in Saint Patrick’s dayand it has gone from being a religious holiday to becoming a highly anticipated event in several countries, such as the United States, a country in which it is estimated that almost 10% of the population has Irish roots.
Specifically in New York, on this date a traditional parade is held that brings together more than 150 thousand people on Fifth Avenue and is the entertainment of millions of people who enjoy the tour through television.
This Friday the 262nd edition of the iconic New York City Saint Patrick’s Day Parade that celebrates Irish culture took place. From 11:00 in the morning and for about four hours the streets of New York were dyed green. The tour began, as always, on Fifth Avenue in 44th Street and ended in 79th Street.
“The Luck of the Irish was shining on 5th Avenue! Happy St. Patrick’s Day from New York,” Mayor Eric Adams wrote on his Twitter account for the occasion.
Adams together with Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell and a contingent of the City Police began what is considered the parade oldest and largest in the world. This tour to Manhattan has been taking place since 1762.
Univision points out that this year about 15,000 people participated in the march. Cardinal Timothy Dolan presided over a mass in honor of the parade at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the patron saint of Ireland.
The governor of the state, Kathy Hochul, also participated in the great event that celebrates the Irish.
“When we marched down Fifth Avenue,” Adams said, during the annual breakfast reception for the Saint Patrick’s day“it seems as if everything turned green.”
Irish immigrants have a long history of helping make New York City what it is today: one of many groups, the mayor said, “that make up our city and that makes us great.”
Kevin Conway, the grand quarterback of the paradeled the way.
“We are going to march in a celebration of all things Irish, Irish culture, the Irish people. We are going to march in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Peace Agreement,” he said, referring to the peace agreement that helped end sectarian violence over the reunification of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.
The celebration in the rest of the US
It’s the time of year when Irish bagpipes sound across the concrete valleys of New York City, through the limp branches of Savannah, Georgia, and through the halls of the White House as America celebrates the Saint Patrick’s day. with parades, pub crawls and a state visit.
Thousands of tourists and locals packed the oak-shaded plazas and sidewalks of downtown Savannah on Friday. The city’s parade, a 199-year tradition, is the largest in the South.
Veteran observers of the parade they arrived before dawn to claim space in the plazas for picnic tables and party tents. The bars opened at 7 am to welcome customers already thirsty for beer and Bloody Marys.
In Portland, Oregon, the city’s oldest Irish bar was looking for a Guinness — not the famous Irish beer, but what they hope is a world record for the largest Irish coffee ever brewed: 264 gallons.
Some cities, including Boston, will hold parades and other festivities this weekend. Other cities like Chicago, which dyes its river green to commemorate a day in which everyone pretends to be Irish, already held their parades last weekend.
The fountain on the South Lawn of the White House also flushed green on Friday as President Joe Biden, who often speaks of his Irish heritage, welcomed Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. The COVID-19 pandemic had pushed the long-standing meeting back two years. Biden said he plans to visit both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland this year, where he will likely commemorate the US-brokered peace deal.
Also in the nation’s capital, Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the United States’ first black cardinal, greeted worshipers with handshakes, hugs and a few selfies amid bagpipe tunes and Irish dancer moves.
In Savannah, the temperatures were spring-like, in the mid-70s (24 C). Fittingly, many parade spectators wore shorts with green T-shirts and necklaces of green plastic beads.
Mike Trout painted his entire face and bald head in green makeup, accented by an orange plastic mustache.
“You’ve got the spirit, brother!” said a passerby, tapping Trout on his shoulder as he and his wife, Diana, strolled through the streets before the parade. The Camp Hill, Pennsylvania couple traveled to Savannah alone to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
Started in 1824 by Irish immigrants in Georgia’s oldest city, Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day parade became one of the largest post-Mardi Gras street parties in the South.
“This is a lot of people,” said Sheila Barry, a Savannah native who reserved spots with a friend along Abercorn Street near the start of the bus route. parade. They packed sandwiches, water, and something else to drink that Barry mischievously described as “St. Patrick’s holy water.
Barry, 55, wore a wide emerald green felt cummerbund embroidered with the names of his late parents, Irish immigrants who came to Savannah more than five decades ago.
“Everybody, everybody is Irish today,” Barry said. “Everyone is here to have a good time.”
Adeline, the 2-year-old granddaughter of Vivian Penn, clapped and waved as the Savannah parade began with kilted schoolchildren carrying American and Irish flags, followed by the monotonous droning of a pipe band. The girl in a white dress with shamrocks and green stripes celebrated her birthday just two days before St. Patrick’s Day.
“She’s always going to be an Irish redhead,” Penn said of her blonde granddaughter.
Friday marked only the second parade in Savannah since the coronavirus pandemic forced city officials to pause the celebration in 2020 and 2021. Even the parade back from last year looked moderate, with plenty of space along the route of the parade typically full, said Penn, who lives nearby. in the historic district of downtown Savannah.
“It looks like this is back to normal,” Penn said. “This morning I said, ‘Yeah, it’s St. Patrick’s Day!’ Seeing all the people out the window with their chairs running down the street was very exciting.”
rites of Saint Patrick’s day: Parades, bagpipes, clinking pints
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