Saint Patrick’s day occurs every year on March 17th. We celebrate in many ways from parades, parties, wearing green, or dying our food green. It’s a holiday we love to celebrate, but where did it some from?

Saint Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, was born in Roman Britain in the fifth century. At the age of 16 he was kidnapped and taken to Ireland as a slave. He managed to escape but later returned to Ireland in effort to bring Christianity to its citizens.

He died on March 17, a date that marked a religious holiday that has been observed for over 1,000 years. Traditionally, Irish families would attend church in the morning and celebrate in the evening. However, the holiday has become much less about religion and much more about parades and parties.

With St. Patrick’s day just 5 days away, I constructed a poll asking people whether or not they celebrate the holiday, what traditions they follow, and what special foods they eat to celebrate.

Out of the 40 people I polled, It was clear that almost everyone celebrates St. Patrick’s day in one way or another; a total of 37 people said that they always do something for the holiday.

As for the most popular tradition, the winner by far is the St. Patrick’s Day parade. 34 people said that their favorite way to celebrate is going to the parade downtown.

Senior Ally Latham commented: “My absolute favorite way to celebrate is to go downtown for the parade, it’s so much fun.”

As for foods people enjoy on St. Patrick’s day, many said they eat things like shamrock shakes, a bright green vanilla/mint flavored milkshake. However 27 people said they eat traditional Irish meals like potatoes, corned beef, stew, and cabbage.

Senior Stephanie Posedel says: “My family eats traditional Irish food, things like creme potatoes and Irish stew.”