San Francisco Chiropractor explains what St. Patricks' Day means


St Patrick's Day comes around every March and people wear green, drink bear and eat cabbage & bacon.  But what does this holiday really mean?  

The history of St. Patricks Day goes back to the 5th Century.  This holiday has been celebrated for over 1,000 years!  This holiday is during the season of Lent for Christians.  Though it is now very common for people to celebrate without being religious or christian.  

This holiday though during Lent traditionally people were allowed to eat meat, dance, drink and have what is now known as the traditional St. Patrick's Day meal which consists of cabbage and bacon.  

St. Patrick lived in the 5th century and became the patron saint of Ireland.  He was born in England was kidnapped by Irish raiders who attacked his home and he was brought to Ireland and made a slave at age 16.  He was enslaved for 6 years until he escaped.  He fled to England and received religious education leading to his return to Ireland.  He is credited with bringing Christianity to its people.  His death was on March 17th 461.  Yes, 461! 

When did this holiday start being celebrated in the United States?

This holiday was celebrating this holiday in the 9th or 10th century, the first St. Patrick's Day celebration was in 1601 in St. Augustine Florida.  It was organized by a Spanish colony's Irish vicar Ricardo Artur.  More than a century later, Irish soldiers who were homesick marched in New York City on March 17, 1772.  From there this holiday started to become an annual tradition.  It is now the world's oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States with over 150,000 taking part in the parade.  Each year, close to 3 million people watch the 1.5 mile parade route which takes about 5 hours.

During the mid-19th century, the Great Potato Famine happened in Ireland.  People who wanted to live and escape starvation began to leave Ireland and come to the United States.  Most of these people were Protestant and with the strong accent, these immigrants had problems finding work.  When St. Patrick's Day participants celebrated their heritage, newspapers depicted them as drunk violent monkeys.  

Eventually, Irish immigrants discovered they had numbers.  They started to organize and become more involved in politics.  They were starting to be called the "Green Machine".  They became an important swing vote for politicians and suddenly this parade and celebration became an event as a must-attend event for politicians and became a sign of strength for the Irish.  In 1948, president Harry S. Truman attended New York City's St. Patrick's Day parade.  

Why was the Chicago River turned green?

It started in 1962, when the city wanted to use dye to see traces of illegal sewage released in the water.  It was then realized that it would be a great way to celebrate the holiday and monitor at the same time.  Each year they released 100 pounds of green vegetable dye which lasted in the water for about a week.   Today only 40 pounds of dye are used and the river is only green for a few hours.  

Even though Chicago is known for this unique way of coloring the water, Savannah, Georgia was the first city to dye Savannah's river green.  Well, at least they tried.  The water turned greenish blue and they did not attempt to dye the river after that incident.  

Though Patrick was started out traumatically, St. Patrick really took the quote "when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade" to heart.  This phrase means to encourage an optimistic attitude of persistence and survival.  

So wear your green, drink your beer and celebrate life!  We only have one here on this earth and let's celebrate the resilience of St. Patrick!

Dr. Amie Gregory is a San Francisco Chiropractor in the mission district.  She is the Grandaughter of Scottish, Irish and German immigrants and loves living in the beautiful city of San Francisco.  

If you are looking for a caring, knowledgable doctor who understands the body and can guide you to reach your health goals, contact us today.  

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Hours in the mission district, San Francisco

Monday
8-12pm
Tuesday
Closed
Wednesday
3-6PM
Thursday
8-12PM
Friday
3-8PM
Saturday
8:00 am - 12:00 pm
Sunday
Closed