Finding artistic inspiration for your projects can be daunting, especially if you don’t have personal experience in the subject. The remedy is fairly easy. Do some research! Learn something new, then put your own spin on it! Below is a brief history on St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in America followed by some of the products created with our St. Patrick’s Day themed clip art!

St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations in America

Saint Patrick’s Day is a cultural and religious celebration held on March 17 every year. Also known as the Feast of Saint Patrick, or St. Paddy’s Day is the traditional death day of Saint Patrick (c. AD 385-461), the foremost Patron Saint and national apostle of the Irish people. It was made an official Christian celebration day in the early 17th century, commemorating St. Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. The day also celebrates the culture and heritage of the Irish in general.

The celebrations began to get serious attention and participation increased in places like Boston and New York sometime during the early 19th century. As Irish-Americans became politically powerful in big cities, cities themselves begin to back St. Patrick’s day celebrations, gaining popularity amongst non-Irish Americans during the late 20th century.

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day is serious business. It involves parades, festivals, wearing green (or risk getting pinched!!), drinking green beer, and decorating with shamrocks, pots of gold, rainbows, and more! It also wouldn’t be a proper St. Patrick’s Day without eating Irish food and partaking in beer crawls across the city!

Popular St. Patrick’s Day Symbols

• Shamrock – The Shamrock is the most common symbol of Saint Patrick’s day. The shamrock is the leaf of the clover plant and a symbol for Holy Trinity because it leaves are divided into three leaflets.

• Horseshoes – Horseshoes are believed to be associated with good luck and chasing away the devil.

• Green Rivers – On this day the rivers are dyed green. The tradition started in Chicago in 1962 completely by accident when the dye meant for sourcing illegal pollutants were used. It was later found to harm the river so now vegetable dye is used to create a harmless green glow.

• Parades – The first St. Patrick’s Day parade happened in St. Augustin, Florida in 1601. Peoples parade down the street in honor of the Irish saint.

• Corned beef and cabbage – Most Irish-Americans go crazy for corned beef. Around the same time when Irish immigrants came to the US, pork was a very expensive meat in Ireland. But the close proximity of the Irish to the Jewish quarter in New York meant corned beef was never far away! It was the next best thing to bacon due to its texture and hence became a traditional meal for Irish-Americans every year.

• Singing ‘Irish Eyes Are Smiling’ – The song is believed to be a popular Irish song, but it was actually written by three lads from New York. Amongst the three, only one had Irish history, yet the song was believed to be of Irish origin. The song was covered by Bing Crosby in 1939 and was a popular song used in movies about Ireland in the 1930s and 40s.

Though Saint Paddy’s day originated in Ireland, wearing green, dyeing the rivers green, and the parades are purely an American celebration of Irish-American pride.

What can you do with St. Patrick’s Day Clip Art?

Party Favor Gift Tags!

All clip art sets come with a limited commercial license *and* print-on-demand license for up to 750 products!

Find The Perfect Clip Art For Your Project Now