St. Patrick’s Day, Wed, March 17th!

You couldn’t have chosen a better time to visit New York and Columbus Circle Hostel than now! Not only did the sun finally come out and glorify us with its warm presence but we’ll all be celebrating St Patrick’s Day tomorrow, Wednesday, March 17!!! It doesn’t matter whether you’re truly Irish or only at heart – we all like to hop on this joyous train and be a little green once a year. It is the ultimate excuse to freely indulge yourself in fun activities, pretend you’re the Lord of the Dance, wear a funny green hat with a clover (uhm, shamrock actually) and drink gallons of beer and eat unhealthy (but yummy!) food all day and usually well into the night. Oh, and did we already mention the rivers of beer we consume on St. Pat’s? yeah…

If you want to experience the spirit of New York on that particular day, however, you simply have to attend one our green parades! There are several St Patrick’s Day parades to choose from but we especially recommend the biggest and “funnest” one of the all – the 249th New York City St Patrick’s Day Parade 2010 - “On the streets of New York since 1762 – the oldest, largest, and best in the world”. The parade marches up 5th Avenue, clan by clan. It starts at 44th Street at 11 am and marches up Fifth Avenue past St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 50th Street, all the way up past the American Irish Historical Society at 83rd and the Metropolitan Museum of Art at 83rd Street to 86th Street, where the parade finishes around 4:30 – 5:00 pm.

So, if you happen to visit the Big Apple around now, you ought to know that your New York trip would not be complete if didn’t go check it out! The St. Patrick’s Day Parade is one of the city’s greatest traditions and on this day, everyone is Irish around here!

If you like to expand your mental horizons with interesting bits of info, here’s some cool facts for you. The Parade marched for the first time on March 17, 1762 and today it is the largest Parade in the world. It’s been held every year for the past 247 years in honor of the Patron Saint of Ireland and the Archdiocese of New York. The Parade is reviewed from Saint Patrick’s Cathedral by His Eminence Cardinal Edward Eagan, Archbishop of New York, in the same way it was over 2 centuries ago at the Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Lower Manhattan before the new one was built on Fifth Avenue. It is a lot of fun, very cheerful and full of colors (well, shades of green at least;-) and is actually not only regarded the most popular parade in New York but also the largest and most famous one of the many parades held here annually.

For those of you who would be completely satisfied with just observing the happy marchers, the organizers recommend watching the parade North of 66th St and Fifth Ave to avoid crowds. The Metropolitan Museum of Art also provides an excellent vantage point. If you really want to take in the marchers and bands though, it might be worth going to 86th St where the parade ends (isn’t our hostel’s location super convenient?!).

http://nyc-st-patrick-day-parade.org

COOL FACTS:

Well now, let’s not forget something important here – St. Patrick’s Day wouldn’t exist if 
not for the man himself! How much do we actually know about him? Personally, for instance, we were oblivious of the fact that he spent six years of slavery in Ireland until he escaped and undertook religious training abroad.

“Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig” (no idea how to pronounce that!) is the Gaelic way of expressing a wish that you have all the blessings of St Patrick’s Day and the “luck of the Irish” to go with it. And yes, there are many amusing explanations for this expression. One comes from the legend of the ‘Little People’ of the land, know as leprechauns. Finding or catching a leprechaun (who would then give you gold) was a lucky event that could only take place in Ireland! – That explains a lot, right? The Irish are descendants of great Celtic and Viking fighters and invaders. Their natural fighting skills often ensured survival & hence they became known as the ‘lucky’ people.

Another thing, why is it celebrated on March 17th? One theory is that it is the day that St. Patrick died. Since the holiday began in Ireland, it is believed that as the Irish spread out around the world, they took with them their history and celebrations. The biggest observance of all is, of course, in Ireland (and New York right after that. Being a religious holiday as well (THAT’S RIGHT!!!), many Irish attend mass, where March 17th is the traditional day for offering prayers for missionaries worldwide before the serious celebrating begins.