Saint Patrick’s Day is often thought of as a celebration of Irish heritage, but many of the traditions associated with it have little or no connection to Ireland at all. Over the years, American commercialization, misunderstandings, and marketing gimmicks have shaped the holiday into something far removed from its origins.
From green beer to parades, here are 10 Saint Patrick’s Day traditions that aren’t really Irish.
Related: 10 Common Myths and Misconceptions About Our Universe
10 Wearing Green to Avoid Getting Pinched
Why do we wear green on St. Patrick’s Day?
One of the most well-known Saint Patrick’s Day traditions in America is wearing green to avoid getting pinched, but this quirky custom has no actual ties to Irish history or culture. The idea is that leprechauns can’t see the color green, so wearing it makes you invisible to them—and if you don’t wear green, people “remind” you of your mistake by pinching you.
While this tradition is firmly entrenched in American celebrations, the Irish don’t pinch each other for not wearing green—in fact, they’re more likely to wear other colors. For much of history, Saint Patrick himself was more commonly associated with the color blue, not green. Early depictions of Saint Patrick in Irish artwork and religious texts show him wearing a blue robe, and even Ireland’s old military orders used blue uniforms.
The shift toward green as the national color began during the 18th and 19th centuries. Irish revolutionaries adopted green as a symbol of their fight for independence. While green is undoubtedly linked to Irish identity today, the idea that you need to wear it on March 17th or get pinched is purely an American invention—one that many Irish people find odd.[1]
9 Drinking Green Beer
Get You Green Beer Ready For St. Patrick’s Day!
If you’ve ever walked into a pub on Saint Patrick’s Day in the United States, you’ve likely seen bright green beer being poured by the gallon. It’s one of the most visually recognizable parts of the celebration. However, in Ireland, adding food coloring to beer is seen as strange, unnecessary, and even insulting to a proper pint.
Green beer was not an Irish invention—it was actually created in the U.S. by a New York coroner named Dr. Thomas Curtin in 1914. He first served a batch of beer dyed green using a laundry whitening solution at a party, and the gimmick quickly caught on as a Saint Patrick’s Day novelty.
In Ireland, traditional pub culture is centered around properly poured pints of Guinness, Smithwick’s, or other Irish stouts and ales—none of which are bright green. Some Irish pubs even refuse to serve green beer, considering it an Americanized gimmick rather than a genuine way to honor Irish heritage.
While bars in the U.S. continue to market green beer as an essential part of the holiday, most Irish drinkers would rather stick to their usual pint, untouched by artificial dyes.[2]
8 Massive Saint Patrick’s Day Parades
Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade steps off
It may be a surprise, but Ireland didn’t start the tradition of grand Saint Patrick’s Day parades—America did. The first recorded Saint Patrick’s Day parade took place in New York City in 1762 when Irish soldiers in the British army marched through the streets to celebrate their heritage. Ireland was still under British rule at the time, and public displays of Irish nationalism were often discouraged or outright banned.
It was Irish immigrants in America, particularly in cities like Boston, Chicago, and New York, who transformed March 17th into a large, public celebration. Saint Patrick’s Day was historically a religious holiday in Ireland, meaning it was primarily observed through church services and small gatherings.
Large-scale parades only became common in Ireland in the 20th century, largely as a way to attract tourism and cater to international visitors. Today, Dublin hosts one of the world’s biggest Saint Patrick’s Day parades. However, it’s a relatively modern adaptation of what Irish Americans started centuries earlier.[3]
7 Corned Beef and Cabbage
Corned Beef and Cabbage | Happy St. Patrick’s Day
When Americans think of traditional Irish food, they often picture corned beef and cabbage, a dish widely eaten in the U.S. on Saint Patrick’s Day. However, while boiled cabbage is a common ingredient in Irish cuisine, corned beef is not—it’s actually an Irish-American adaptation that became popular in the 19th century. In Ireland, the traditional dish would have been bacon and cabbage, made with salted pork instead of beef.
Irish immigrants in New York and Boston found that beef was much cheaper and more widely available than pork in American markets, especially in Jewish delis, where kosher butchers produced large amounts of salt-cured beef brisket (corned beef). It became a cheap and easy substitute for the salted pork they were used to back home.
Over time, corned beef and cabbage became closely linked to Irish-American culture. Still, if you were to visit Ireland on Saint Patrick’s Day, you’d be far more likely to see lamb stew, seafood, or soda bread on the table than corned beef.[4]
6 Drinking Excessively as “Honorary Irish” Behavior
How Did St. Patrick’s Day Become a Drinking Holiday? | Distiller
Saint Patrick’s Day has become synonymous with heavy drinking, particularly in the United States, where it is one of the biggest bar nights of the year. Many Americans take part in all-day pub crawls, beer-fueled parades, and whiskey shots, often justifying the excessive drinking with phrases like “everyone’s Irish on Saint Patrick’s Day.”
However, the idea of Saint Patrick’s Day being a binge-drinking holiday is largely an American construct, not an Irish tradition. In Ireland, Saint Patrick’s Day was historically a religious occasion, meaning alcohol consumption was heavily restricted. In fact, from 1927 to 1970, Irish law required that all pubs be closed on March 17th, as the holiday was considered a solemn observance, not a drinking festival.
While modern Ireland does see people enjoying a few pints on Saint Patrick’s Day, the level of excessive drinking and rowdy celebrations seen in American cities like Boston, New York, or Chicago is not the norm in Ireland. The over-the-top drunkenness associated with the holiday is a direct result of American commercialization and Hollywood stereotypes of the “drunken Irish” rather than any deeply rooted Irish tradition.[5]
5 Dyeing Rivers Green
St. Patrick’s Day tradition: Why Chicago dyes its river green
Every year, cities like Chicago dye their rivers bright green to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, creating an eye-catching spectacle that draws thousands of spectators. The tradition began in 1962 when the Chicago Plumbers Union used a special dye to detect illegal sewage leaks in the river. Realizing how festive the effect looked, they decided to turn it into an annual Saint Patrick’s Day event, permanently linking the neon-green water with the holiday.
The process involves pouring environmentally safe vegetable-based dye into the river, which transforms the water for a few hours before fading away. However, despite its association with Irish culture, Ireland has never dyed its rivers green for Saint Patrick’s Day.
While landmarks like Dublin Castle and the Cliffs of Moher are illuminated with green lights as part of the “Global Greening” campaign, large-scale dyeing of natural bodies of water has never been a part of Irish tradition. Many Irish people find the practice gimmicky and over-the-top. However, in the U.S., it remains one of the most famous visual spectacles of the holiday.[6]
4 Shamrock Shakes and Other Gimmicky Green Foods
How to Make a St. Patrick’s Day Shake
From Shamrock Shakes to green bagels and even green beer, food manufacturers in the U.S. take every opportunity to turn Saint Patrick’s Day into a neon-green extravaganza [LINK 7]. One of the most famous examples is McDonald’s Shamrock Shake, introduced in 1970 as a limited-time mint-flavored treat. Other chains and bakeries soon followed suit, introducing green donuts, green pasta, and even green pizzas—all in the name of celebrating “Irish culture.”
However, none of these green-colored foods have any historical or cultural significance in Ireland. Traditional Irish dishes are hearty and simple, featuring stews, soda bread, and seafood—not artificially dyed desserts or green-colored fast food. The trend of turning everything green for Saint Patrick’s Day is purely a marketing strategy used by American businesses, capitalizing on the holiday’s popularity. While some people enjoy the festive novelty, others consider it a ridiculous Americanization of Irish traditions.[7]
3 Leprechaun Traps
Leprechaun Trap! Happy St. Patrick’s day!
In recent years, a new Saint Patrick’s Day tradition has emerged in American households and elementary schools—leprechaun traps. The concept is simple: on the night of March 16th, kids build tiny, elaborate traps designed to capture a leprechaun. The next morning, they wake up to find that the leprechaun has escaped, leaving behind gold chocolate coins, small green footprints, or a mischievous mess. Some families go even further, treating it like a miniature version of the Elf on the Shelf, with leprechauns causing silly pranks throughout the house.
While leprechauns are indeed a part of Irish folklore, trapping them has never been a tradition in Ireland. This modern-day game is entirely an American invention, most likely created by teachers or parents as a fun classroom activity. Though kids love the excitement, the idea of setting up leprechaun traps would probably baffle most Irish people, as it has no historical or mythological basis.[8]
2 Calling It “St. Patty’s Day”
Why Do Americans Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?
One of the quickest ways to irritate an Irish person is by calling Saint Patrick’s Day “St. Patty’s Day.” While many Americans shorten the holiday’s name to “Patty,” this is a linguistic mistake—Patty is a nickname for Patricia, not Patrick. The correct Irish abbreviation is “Paddy,” which comes from the traditional Gaelic name for Patrick, Pádraig.
Despite its widespread use in the U.S., “St. Patty’s Day” is rarely used in Ireland. The phrase has become so notorious that many Irish people actively correct those who use it, and online campaigns like #PaddyNotPatty have tried to educate people on the mistake. While Americans often see “St. Patty’s Day” as an innocent shorthand, to the Irish, it’s just another example of how their cultural holiday has been misunderstood and misrepresented abroad.[9]
1 Saint Patrick Was Irish
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT SAINT PATRICK? The real St Patrick | St Patrick documentary | History Calling
Perhaps the biggest misconception of all—Saint Patrick wasn’t even Irish. He was actually born in Roman Britain (likely modern-day Scotland or Wales) in the late 4th century. As a teenager, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken to Ireland, where he was enslaved and forced to work as a shepherd. After several years, he managed to escape back to Britain. However, he later returned to Ireland as a Christian missionary, determined to convert the Irish people to Christianity. His success in spreading the faith and establishing churches eventually earned him the title of Ireland’s patron saint despite his foreign origins.
So, while he’s closely associated with Irish culture, Saint Patrick himself was never actually Irish—a fact that surprises many people celebrating his holiday today. His story is one of captivity, religious transformation, and cultural adoption, but the image of Saint Patrick as an Irish-born figure has persisted for centuries despite its historical inaccuracy.[10]
fact checked by Darci Heikkinen
