St. Patrick’s Day celebrations recap

March 17, 2025

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St. Patrick’s Day, celebrated on March 17, honours Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.

While it began as a religious holiday, it has grown into a worldwide celebration of Irish culture. Cities around the world mark the occasion with parades, festivals, and even unique traditions like dyeing rivers green.

In Chicago, USA, the famous Chicago River is dyed bright green on the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day. The city also hosts multiple parades, including the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade downtown on Saturday and the South Side Irish Parade on Sunday in the Beverly/Morgan Park neighbourhood.

Across the Atlantic, London, England, is also preparing for a grand celebration. The St. Patrick’s Day parade will travel through the heart of the city, passing Hyde Park, Trafalgar Square, and Whitehall. Leading the event as grand marshals will be Paralympic cyclist Katie-George Dunlevy and Olympic boxer Kellie Harrington, both gold medalists. Trafalgar Square will host a festival from noon to 6 p.m., featuring Irish music, dance, food, and cultural performances.

Meanwhile, in Dunedin, New Zealand, St. Patrick’s Day has become one of the biggest social events of the year, especially for university students. Thousands gather in green outfits to celebrate, with many visitors traveling from other cities. However, local officials are reminding partygoers to celebrate responsibly.

Article written by Milli Banbury

This article was written using AI as an assistive tool for research, writing, and proofreading.
The te reo Māori version of this article was translated with AI assistance. While care has been taken to keep it accurate, if you spot anything that doesn't read quite right, please let us know

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Learning Options

Recall Questions

Thinking questions

Digital Thinking

At a local reserve near Rotorua, a group of Year 8 students helped with a native planting project. Before the project began, the area was dry and muddy, with only a few struggling grasses left beside the stream. Over several weekends, volunteers planted more than 300 young kānuka, mānuka, and carex plants. They also laid mulch to hold moisture in the soil and placed protective guards around each plant so rabbits would not eat the leaves.

After three months, the students noticed that insects had started returning to the reserve. Small birds were feeding in the new shrubs, and the stream edge looked less bare. The group recorded the growth of the plants and compared it with earlier photos. Their teacher said the project showed how careful work can slowly improve a damaged place.

What is the main idea of this passage?

The students and volunteers worked to restore a damaged reserve with native planting. The reserve was always full of healthy native plants and birds. Rabbits caused the greatest problem for the students during weekends. The students learned how to identify insects living near a stream.