March 17th is St. Patrick's day or "St. Paddy's Day". It is given that nickname because the name "Patrick" is the English version of the Irish Gaelic name "Pádraig", and the nickname for Pádraig is Paddy.
This is an Irish celebration, because St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, like the Virgen de la Almudena is the patron saint of Madrid. So why I am talking about the way we celebrate this holiday in the USA?
More than 30 million people in the USA are of Irish descent-- this means that someone in their family came from Ireland. This way, the Irish community gets to celebrate their heritage and traditions, and share their culture with other Americans.
Some traditional food is corned beef and cabbage:
The shamrock is a symbol of St. Patrick's Day. Nowadays, the holiday focuses on the green color of the shamrock.
Today, in the USA, it has turned into a cultural celebration. Some companies give away free "green food" and in Chicago, the water in the river "turns green" for the day.
Watch this video about the celebration in San Diego, where I'm from:
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