St. Patrick’s Day In Canada

—| B1-B2 (intermediate) |—

Photo courtesy of Patrick Fore on Unsplash.

If you are in Canada and you see more people than normal wearing green today, it is because Canadians are celebrating an unofficial holiday in the country called “St. Patrick’s Day.”

Originally from Ireland, this holiday is celebrated in Canada every March 17th. Canadians typically celebrate it by wearing green. They do this in order to protect themselves from friends and family members pinching them on this day; if you do not wear green on St. Patrick’s Day, then people have the right to pinch you. It is a silly rule, but it is a commonly observed tradition.

In addition to wearing green, you might see some Canadians decorating their homes, offices, or businesses. These decorations generally consist of four-leaf clovers (a symbol of luck), gold coins, treasure chests at the end of rainbows, and leprechauns.

Specific food is also often eaten on this holiday. It is common to see people drinking green beer, green tea, mint milkshakes, and eating green foods like green tomatoes, celery, peas, beans, ice cream, cupcakes, candy, and anything else that is naturally or can be artificially coloured green.

If this holiday is on a Friday or Saturday, many teenagers and young adults might throw a St.-Patrick’s-Day-themed party. Some families might even imitate Easter activities with children by hiding chocolate gold coins around the house for their children to find.

Is there a holiday similar to this in your country? Tell me about it in the comments below.

To learn about more Canadian holidays, including vocabulary related to these holidays, check out the Holidays link in the Tags section of our blog.