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In the United States
Irish colonists brought Saint Patrick's Day to what is now the United States of America. The first civic and public celebration of Saint Patrick's Day in the 13 colonies took place in Boston, Massachusetts in 1737.[26] During this first celebration The Charitable Irish Society of Boston organized what was the first Saint Patrick's Day Parade in the colonies on 17 March 1737.[27] The first celebration of Saint Patrick's Day in New York City was held at the Crown and Thistle Tavern in 1756,[28] and New York's first Saint Patrick's Day Parade was held on 17 March 1762 by Irish soldiers in the British Army. In 1780, General George Washington, who commanded soldiers of Irish descent in the Continental Army, allowed his troops a holiday on 17 March. This event became known as The St. Patrick's Day Encampment of 1780.[27] Today, Saint Patrick's Day is widely celebrated in America by Irish and non-Irish alike.
Postcard mailed in the United States in 1912Americans celebrate the holiday by wearing green clothing. Many people, regardless of ethnic background, wear green-coloured clothing and items. Traditionally, those who are caught not wearing green are pinched. [9] Alcohol is the centre of many American celebrations.[citation needed]
Some cities paint the traffic stripe of their parade routes green. Chicago dyes its river green, and Indianapolis dyes its main canal green. Savannah dyes its downtown city fountains green. University of Missouri Rolla - St Pat's Board Alumni paint 12 city blocks kelly green with mops before the annual parade.[citation needed]
Many parades are held to celebrate the holiday including the cities listed below:
The longest-running Saint Patrick's Day celebrations in the U.S. are:
Boston, Massachusetts, since 1737
New York City, since 1756
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since 1771
Morristown, New Jersey, since 1780
Buffalo, New York, since 1811
Savannah, Georgia, since 1813
Carbondale, Pennsylvania, since 1833
Chicago, Illinois, since 1843
New Haven, Connecticut, since 1845
San Francisco, California, since 1852
Scranton, Pennsylvania, since 1862
Cleveland, Ohio, since 1867
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, since 1869[29]
Kansas City, Missouri, since 1873
Butte, Montana, since 1882
Rolla, Missouri, since 1908
Irish cuisine can be divided into two main categories – traditional, mainly simple dishes, and more modern dishes, as served in restaurants and hotels.
Colcannon is a good dish made of potato and one of wild garlic (the earliest form), cabbage or curly kale, (compare bubble and squeak). Champ consists of mashed potato into which chopped scallions (spring onions) are mixed.
Other examples of simple Irish meals are Irish stew, and also bacon and cabbage (boiled together in water). Boxty, a type of potato pancake, is another traditional dish. A dish mostly particular to Dublin is coddle, which involves boiled pork sausages. Ireland is famous for the Irish breakfast, a fried (or grilled) meal generally comprising bacon, egg, sausage, black and white pudding, fried tomato and which may also include fried potato farls or fried potato slices.
While seafood has always been consumed by Irish people, shellfish dishes have increased in popularity in recent times, especially due to the high quality of shellfish available from Ireland's coastline, e.g. Dublin Bay Prawns, Oysters (many oyster festivals are held annually around the coast where oysters are often served with Guinness, the most notable being held in Galway every September ) as well as other crustaceans. Salmon and cod are perhaps the two most common types of fish used.
Traditional Irish breads include soda bread, wheaten bread, soda farls, and blaa, a doughy white bread roll particular to Waterford.
 Gweener · Sat Mar 15, 2008 @ 07:10am · 0 Comments |
