St Patrick’s Day 2023 in the United Kingdom

St Patrick’s Day 2023 in the UK will be celebrated on March 17 and it is given the status of a bank holiday.

Let’s talk about St Patrick’s Day from the list of Holidays 2023.

Popular by various names, The Feast of Saint Patrick is another common name attributed to this festival. Although the celebrations mainly take place in Northern Ireland, some other parts of the UK also seem to get engaged in the festivities of St. Patrick’s Day.

When is St Patrick’s Day in 2023?

17

March, 2023

(Friday)

Is St. Patrick’s Day a Public Holiday?

St. Patrick’s Day is a public holiday in the United Kingdom according to Holidays 2023. Those who are not aware of its date, should keep reading this to find out some interesting and detailed insights about this day. As the name suggests, this particular day is dedicated to Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland and it is observed as a bank holiday in Northern Ireland.

His traditional death anniversary is commenced by the people of Ireland, by celebrating this event. Contemporary beliefs state that the counterpart of this festival exists in the celebration of Saint George Day, which marks the death anniversary of a Saint of the same name. Let us move on to some interesting insights about this day.

St. Patrick’s Day History

The facts associated with St Patrick’s Day history have already been mentioned. This day is marked as the traditional death anniversary of Saint Patrick, who is fondly remembered as the patron saint of Ireland.

He was born in mainland Britain, but sources state that he was forcefully kidnapped at a very young age of 16 and taken to Ireland as a slave. He ultimately broke free the chains of slavery and returned to Ireland in 432 with the aim of converting the Irish folks into Christians.

By the time he died on 17 March in 462, the establishment of many monasteries, churches and schools were credited to him. Many legends are also popular about his life, one of them being that he drove snakes away from Ireland. Hence, it has been believed that there have been no snakes in Ireland ever since the era of the Ice Age.

Why is St Patrick’s Day Celebrated in the UK?

The main reason behind the celebration of this festival has already been mentioned above. So, the 17th of March is taken into account as his death anniversary, which is why it is marked as St Patrick’s Day.

As the Irish folks regard him as their patron saint, his death anniversary is celebrated with great vigour and gaze all over Northern Ireland and some other parts of the UK, which consist of the Irish diaspora.

For instance, many cities in England also consist of a major flux of the Irish population. Naturally, they do get involved in the celebrations of the Feast of Saint Patrick. Over all these years, its popularity has increased all over England.

The extent to which people celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day says a lot about their religious and political affiliations. Generally, those natives who nurture the belief that Northern Ireland should remain a part of the UK, do not get engaged in the celebrations of Saint Patrick’s Day. London hosts majestic Patrick’s Day celebrations.

All of these instances only strengthen the hint that one doesn’t need to be Irish necessarily to organize the celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day.

Public Life on St Patrick’s Day in UK

St Patrick’s Day happens to be a public holiday in Northern Ireland. In England, Scotland and Wales, this day remains a normal working day. For some people, this is a day to celebrate, while the others regard it as a normal working day.

Most organisations on St. Patrick’s Day in Northern Ireland remain closed. Public events like parades and marches add some extra colours to the celebrations of Saint Patrick’s Day.

Moving on, let us talk about the special highlights taking place on this bank holiday in Northern Ireland, and also the entire UK.

1. The colour green is especially associated with this day, although the original colour attributed to Saint Patrick was blue.
2. Many religious services and feasts are hosted by the churches in Northern Ireland.
3. All the Irish and the non-Irish community sport a green look. Some are even seen donning a shamrock look, which happens to be the national plant of Ireland.
4. Corned Beef and Cabbage are mostly witnessed food items on this day.
5. Even beer is also dyed green sometimes, so as to follow the colour code.
6. London hosts a weekend long festival on the occasion of St Patrick’s Day which begins on Friday and comes to an end on Sunday.
7. The St. Patrick’s Day parade organized in London is one of the most talked about celebrations of this day, which originates from the Piccadilly circle on the afternoon of Sunday. It also includes marching bands from Ireland.
8. Massed pipers perform at the parade organized in Birmingham.

St Patrick’s Day Observances

Year Weekday Date Name Holiday Type
2019 Sun 17 March St Patrick’s Day Local Bank Holiday
2020 Tue 17 March St Patrick’s Day Local Bank Holiday
2021 Wed 17 March St Patrick’s Day Local Bank Holiday
2022 Thu 17 March St Patrick’s Day Local Bank Holiday
2023 Fri 17 March St Patrick’s Day Local Bank Holiday
2024 Sun 17 March St Patrick’s Day Local Bank Holiday
2025 Mon 17 March St Patrick’s Day Local Bank Holiday

FAQs

1. How did St Patrick’s Day become a drinking holiday?

St. Patrick’s Day is marked as the traditional death anniversary of Saint Patrick. The Christian individuals held an incredible dining experience for which Lenten nourishment and liquor limitations were incidentally evacuated, which is the reason drinking has gotten synonymous with the occasion.

2. Do Scots celebrate St Patrick’s Day?

Scotland has its own supporter holy person and doesn’t have to celebrate other people’s.

3. Is St Patrick’s Day a holiday?

Yes, St. Patricks Day is a public holiday in the UK but in England, Scotland and Wales, this day remains a normal working day.

4. Is St Patrick’s Day Always on Sunday?

St. Patrick’s Day is fixed on March 17, however may once in a while be moved by Catholic Church specialists. This occurred in 1940, with the goal that the festivals would not fall on Palm Sunday, and in 2008 to avoid Holy Monday, the last Monday before Easter Sunday.

5. What color should you not wear on St Patrick’s Day?

Green color is especially associated with this day, although the original colour attributed to Saint Patrick was blue.

St Patrick’s Day Celebrations in Other Countries

From the above information you are still confused about When is Saint Patrick’s Day in 2023? So the date is March 17, Friday.

So, these were the major highlights and the necessary information on St Patrick’s Day celebrations in the UK. We hope you like this article of ours. Thankyou for connecting with us!!

Quick Facts

This year: Fri, 17 March 2023
Next year: Sun, 17 March 2024
Last year: Thu, 17 March 2022
Type: Local Bank Holiday

St Patrick’s Day - Names in Other Languages

English: St Patrick’s Day
German: St. Patrick’s Day
French: Fête de la Saint-Patrick
Spanish: Día de San Patricio
Norwegian: St Patrick’s Dag
Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig