By wearing green, having community parades and eating Irish dishes, the community honors Irish culture by celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in March.
For centuries, people all around the world have celebrated St. Patrick’s Day. From wearing green to hosting parties, the celebration has been a tradition for many members of the Souderton community.
St. Patrick’s Day is often recognized as a religious holiday because of it being the anniversary of the Irish patron Saint Patrick’s passing in the fifth century, who is remembered for having brought Christianity to Ireland. Since being first celebrated in the 17th century, St. Patrick’s Day has been a symbol of Irish pride.
Many members of the Souderton community show their festivity through different activities. For junior Charlotte Boyle, St. Patrick’s Day consists of family dinners and decorating their house with clovers, blow-up decorations, and other decorations relating to the holiday.
“My mom is like the Pinterest mom,” Boyle said, “a couple of days ago, she made a little box that had all green stuff in it, like flowers.”
According to Boyle, family dinners for the holiday are common in her family.
“It’s usually just my family and I, but sometimes, if my aunts on my dad’s side are available, we’ll go out to eat. She also brings out St. Patrick’s day [based] food.”
Other members of the community do not celebrate the holiday as much as others.
“I don’t really celebrate St. Patrick’s Day,” freshman Peyton Vanbuskirk said, “I just do the basic stuff. I wear green and pinch people who aren’t. I try to have fun with it.”
To Vanbuskirk, the holiday is a time to spend with family.
“I feel like St. Patrick’s day is one [holiday] that we [her family] can all joke about because of the stereotype of redheads being called the leprechauns,” Vanbuskirk said.
For sophomore Ian Shutts, the holiday comes with a bit more responsibility.
“Usually, for St. Patrick’s Day, what comes up a lot is performances,” Shutts said. “I’ve been working [at Action Karate] for a while now. I got certified [as an instructor] in October and fully certified in November.”
Shutts said that around St. Patrick’s Day is when Action Karate starts looking for a new group of kids to “sign up” for lessons.
“We want more kids to sign up. Usually, that starts around March. [Around] St. Patrick’s Day, we do the Gaelic Fest, we do the parades, and that’s usually the start of [recruiting new members],” Shutts said.