You may be wondering how the Irish holiday, Saint Patrick’s Day, is celebrated differently here in the US than it is in Ireland, which is where it originated. Well to start off, In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is recognized as a national holiday but it isn’t recognized as a national holiday in the US. While many people in the US may celebrate the day and their Irish heritage, it isn’t a national holiday so no one gets off for work or school. Most people will celebrate after work on the day, or on the surrounding weekends. On the other hand, in Ireland, Saint Patrick’s day is a day off for everyone and all schools and more businesses are closed. In Ireland, the holiday is referred to as Saint Paddy’s Day or even just Paddy’s Day while in America, we usually refer to it as Saint Patty’s Day. Also, parades in Ireland usually aren’t anywhere near as big as they can be in the US. In Ireland, soda bread is eaten all year around not just on the holiday like it is in the US. In Chicago, they dye the river green but in Ireland, there are no similar events to this. People in Ireland also don’t change the color of their foods or drinks either like we do in America. In America, places may sell green bagels and green colored drinks and in some schools, they may have Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations where they have green bagels and green colored flavored drinks.  In addition, in Ireland, they eat bacon and cabbage but in America, people eat corned beef and cabbage. Irish potato candy (candies with coconut cream inside that are rolled in cinnamon) are not from Ireland. They are actually from Philadelphia. Blarney stones are also only found in America and Reuben sandwiches are not found in America, they are traditionally an Irish dish. In Ireland, a shamrock with three leaves rather than four is used as a symbol of Ireland. They only use three leafed shamrocks to represent St. Patrick in Ireland. Surprisingly, leprechauns have only recently become part of celebrations in Ireland. Overall, there are many differences in how this holiday is celebrated in America and Ireland!