This Irish holiday is dominated by green clothing, Irish dance and customs. Numerous parades, performances and concerts take place. It's a festival of art and music, not only in Dublin, but in many corners of the world.

St Patrick's Day 17 March – what is this celebration?

17 March marks a national and religious holiday in Ireland. This is the day when the most popular patron of the island is remembered – St Patrick. Maewyn Sucat, as he was originally called, later known as St Patrick, is the famous patron saint of Ireland. As a teenage boy he was abducted to Ireland from his home in Britain. He had to tend sheep and pigs. He managed to escape, but faithful to his resolutions he decided to return to Ireland to evangelise. Many legends surround the life and mission of St Patrick. He is said to have driven the snakes out of Ireland, healed the sick, and explained the dogma of the Holy Trinity to the Irish using a three-leafed clover. He died in 461 on 17 March – since then, this day has been celebrated in his memory, and the story of St Patrick remains very much alive.

St Patrick's Day is celebrated all over the world

Ireland began celebrating St Patrick's Day in 1903. Initially it was celebrated very quietly, as the holiday fell during Lent, but today it is a day of joy and fun, which other countries happily join in. The holiday was spread by Irish emigrants, which is why many parades take place outside Ireland on this day. It's worth joining this fascinating tradition. See how to prepare for it. It's worth taking care of the symbols of St Patrick's Day, such as the three-leafed clover, green beer or Patrick's jug. It's also worth getting to know St Patrick's work well, in order to celebrate this traditional Irish holiday knowingly.

Green clothing – why is green important on this day?

Bottle green girls' tunic and green kids' polo shirt

Green is the national colour of Ireland, referring to the island's landscape, its many meadows and hills. Green also symbolises the clover, which became an important symbol of St Patrick. Although blue was originally associated with St Patrick, over time green came to dominate this holiday. This happened around the 18th century, after the green clover was adopted as Ireland's national symbol. Today, this day is certainly associated with the colour green, green clothes, green food, and even green buildings. Even in Poland, for example in Gdańsk, the Anchor and viaducts are lit up in this colour on St Patrick's Day.  ucc caty45

Green clothing for kids – what St Patrick's Day might look like at nursery

Many nurseries organise a green day on 17 March. On this day, children learn about Irish traditions and legends, music and customs. Games are arranged to introduce children to Irish culture and this traditional Irish holiday. Of course, all activities are accompanied by green clothing. This is the most telling symbol of the day, and kids love to dress up. You can come up with a St Patrick's Day outfit very quickly. All you need to do is choose green clothing for kids. If it turns out that your wardrobe is missing this colour, there's still time to prepare for this day. We'll show you how to quickly create a green outfit from clothes that will certainly come in handy afterwards.

Green clothes for boys

A simple combination in which your little one will feel not only appropriately dressed for the occasion, but also comfortable, can be created with trousers that kids love. Pair green sweatpants with a back pocket with a green hooded sweatshirt. This quick combination is very practical and will come in handy in your child's wardrobe. Among green clothing, you can also choose a green short-sleeve T-shirt or green baggy trousers instead of sweatpants. The outfit will be comfortable and your child will certainly be happy to wear it.

Green clothing for girls

Green sweatshirt dress

Parents of girls can also choose shorts for them, though we suggest a green short-sleeve dress for this day. Depending on the temperature, you can also choose a long-sleeve dress in green. Green dresses with a frill, both in short-sleeve and long-sleeve versions, will also work perfectly. The frills will swirl beautifully while playing, and girls will look adorable in such outfits.  

St Patrick's Day at school - Ireland's national colour, green, is a must

Schools also join in the celebration of the Irish holiday. This is a great opportunity to broaden children's knowledge of Ireland. It can be combined with geography, history or English language lessons. Such a variation in learning is always useful, and knowledge conveyed this way is often much easier to absorb. Older children may be tempted to dye their hair on this day. Green clothing will be a must, but any creative way of using green is welcome on this day.

Leprechauns, mischievous sprites who may punish you for not wearing green

Leprechauns are well-known figures from Irish folklore. These mischievous sprites were engaged in making and repairing shoes (hence their name, meaning shoemaker). Small in stature, these sprites are associated with figures wearing a hat, short trousers and characteristic buckled shoes. They have a beard and often smoke a pipe. They are known for playing pranks on people and for guarding places where treasure is hidden. Clay pots of gold are impossible to obtain, hence the popular saying that they are found at the other end of the rainbow. Mischievous sprites reportedly used to pinch people who weren't wearing green clothes.

Today, the tradition remains that if you're not wearing green on this day, friends pinch each other as a sign of reprimand, expressed in this respect by leprechauns. So it's worth not taking the risk and wearing green clothing on St Patrick's Day, so as not to be exposed to a friendly pinch.

St Patrick's Day for kids is great fun and an opportunity to learn new customs. So choose green clothing and join in the fun. Adults can also celebrate this day, but in their case, apart from green clothes, attention is paid to other customs popular on this day. So enjoy Celtic rhythms, taste green drinks. This joyful holiday on the eve of spring will certainly put you in a good mood. Green clothes will come in handy in the coming period. Spring is, after all, the time when nature comes back to life, and this colour is very eagerly chosen.