March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day. It is a day to commemorate Saint Patrick, who spread Christianity to Ireland in the 4th century. Various festivals are held on this day in areas with a large Irish population, including Ireland, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
On the 17th of St. Patrick’s Day, the fountain on the north side of the White House in the United States turned green, a symbol of Ireland. AP=Yonhap News
This year’s St. Patrick’s Day in the United States has a special meaning. This is because President Biden is an Irish Catholic. John F. Kennedy, the 35th, was the only Irish Catholic of the US president, up to Trump, in his 45s. Reagan was also a descendant of Irish Catholic immigrants, but I was a Protestant. Catholics are 22.7% in the United States.
US President Joe Biden holds a video conference with Prime Minister Mihol Martin Ireland in the White House office on the 17th, St. Patrick’s Day. Irish chrysanthemum shamrock decorates the office. AFP=Yonhap News
President Biden held a video conference with Ireland’s Prime Minister Mihol Martin at the White House. The fountain at the White House is colored green, and the Oval Office, the office, is decorated with green shamrock (clover). The shamrock has become the national flower of Ireland now due to the history of Saint Patrick’s comparison of the Trinity of’the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is one body’ to the three-leaf clover during missions in Ireland.
Joe Biden, the new U.S. president, an Irish Catholic, met the Irish Prime Minister in his office decorated with Irish chrysanthemums on St. Patrick’s Day.
Clover, the national flower of Ireland, is stuck in the pocket of President Biden’s jacket while talking with the Irish Prime Minister. President Biden is a descendant of Irish immigrants. EPA=Yonhap News
Clover-shaped balloons are on sale on the 17th in Boston, USA. EPA=Yonhap News
To commemorate St. Patrick’s Day on the 17th, the river in downtown Chicago was colored green. It is said that there is no environmental pollution by using eco-friendly pigments. AP=Yonhap News
There are many ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The rivers flowing through the city are colored green, a symbol of Ireland, dressed in green, played an Irish bagpipe, danced to traditional Irish music, and exchanged three-leaf clover shapes. Believers worship at church and drink Irish whiskey, beer and cider.
A parade was held to commemorate St. Patrick’s Day on the 17th in New York, USA. This year’s parade was held briefly, and the official St. Patrick’s Day event was canceled due to Corona 19. AFP=Yonhap News
The parade celebrating St. Patrick’s Day first began in Boston, USA in 1737. In 1766, an official parade was also held in New York. In 1931, the first government-sponsored parade was held in Dublin, the capital of Ireland, and in the 1990s it launched a national campaign and organized the St. Patrick’s Festival. In 2009, one million people went to the five-day festival.
But this year, no festivals or parades can be held anywhere in the world. Of course, it is because of the pandemic of Corona 19.
The Campbells of Savannah, Georgia, USA, dressed in green, celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The Patrick’s Day Parade, which has been in the city for 197 years, was canceled this year due to coronavirus. AP=Yonhap News
The Irish flag hangs on the streets of Manhattan, New York, USA to commemorate St. Patrick’s Day. The streets are busy. AP=Yonhap News
Burj Al Arab, a 7-star hotel in Dubai, also lit green to commemorate St. Patrick’s Day on the 17th. AP=Yonhap News
Reporter Choi Jeong-dong
