Saint Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick depicted in a stained glass window at Saint Benin's Church, Ireland
Official name	Saint Patrick's Day
Also called	Feast of Saint Patrick Patrick's Day Lá Fheile Pádraig (St) Paddy's Day (St) Patty's Day
Observed by	Irish people and people of Irish descent Catholic Church (see calendar) Anglican Communion (see calendars) Eastern Orthodox Church (see calendar) Lutheran Church (see calendar)
Type	Ethnic, national, Christian
Significance	Feast day of Saint Patrick, commemoration of the arrival of Christianity in Ireland
Celebrations	Attending parades attending céilithe wearing shamrocks wearing green drinking Irish beer drinking Irish whiskey
Observances	Attending mass or service
Date	17 March
Next time	17 March 2017 (2017-03-17)
Frequency	Annual

Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig, "the Day of the Festival of Patrick"), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461), the foremost patron saint of Ireland.

Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Christian feast day in the early 17th century and is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland), the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Lutheran Church. The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general. Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, céilithe, and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks. Christians also attend church services and the Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol are lifted for the day, which has encouraged and propagated the holiday's tradition of alcohol consumption.

Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland,Northern Ireland, the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora around the world, especially in Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand. Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated in more countries than any other national festival. Modern celebrations have been greatly influenced by those of the Irish diaspora, particularly those that developed in North America. In recent years, there has been criticism of Saint Patrick's Day celebrations for having become too commercialized and for fostering negative stereotypes of the Irish.