St. Patrick’s Day, the feast day of the patron saint of Ireland, falls on March 17 every year. In 2024, March 17 is a Sunday.

Ireland and neighbors across the pond have been commemorating Saint Patrick since the ninth or 10th century, according to the History Channel.

St. Patrick was never canonized by the Catholic Church but has enjoyed longstanding historical popularity. Saint Patrick died on March 17, 461, which later became the day we celebrate him and the Irish.

America’s first St. Patrick’s Day celebration was in 1600 in the Spanish colony of present-day St. Augustine, Florida. Spanish colonial records mentioned a celebration for Saint Patrick in 1600 and the first known St. Patrick’s Day parade was held on March 17, 1601.

The tale of Saint Patrick likely traveled from Ireland to the Americas in the 16th century by way of Richard Arthur, a priest in St. Augustine and an Irish soldier, The Washington Post reported. Records of St. Patrick celebrations died with Arthur, but additional records show Irish soldiers in the English military marched in celebration of Saint Patrick in Boston in 1737 and New York City in 1762.

Decades of growing Irish patriotism resulted in Irish Aid societies and annual parades of bagpipes and drums. They united to form one official New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 1848, according to the History Channel.

While rowdy celebrations occurred in the U.S., Irish laws mandated pubs be closed on St. Patrick’s Day until the 1970s. In 1995 the Irish government began campaigning for bigger March 17 celebrations to drive tourism.

Patrick’s legacy continued in the U.S., particularly in areas with large groups of Irish immigrants. St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City is one of the most recognizable churches in the country and was “created to affirm the ascendance of religious freedom and tolerance,” according to the Cathedral’s site.