With St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, some of you might be starting to plan your special day, and here's a great way to spend St. Patrick's Day, if you don't have the funds, or time to fly all the way to Ireland to partake in the Festivities.
The St. Patick's Day Parade has been held in New York now, for the 247th Consecutive Year going up Fifth Avenue in New York City, with the first March commencing on 17, 1762. And according to New York St. Patrick's Day Parade website, that was Sixteen Years before the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
The parade marches up 5th Avenue, clan by clan, from 44th and 5th Avenue, to 86th streets starting at 11am on St. Patrick's Day (Monday, March 17th). It is expected that it will be televised on NBC.
The leaders of the parade are traditionally a unit of soldiers; the Irish 165th Infantry which was originally the 69th Regiment of the 1850's, and next to go are the various Irish societies, and clans from throughout the city. A few other sponsors and participants are the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the thirty Irish county societies, and various Emerald, Irish-language, and Irish nationalist societies.
The tradition in New York for the St. Patrick's Day Parade Grew In Numbers.
The Irish clans came together and moved in a procession towards St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, St. James Church, or one of the many other Roman Catholic churches in the City. As the Parade grew in popularity, the members increased in numbers and in 1851, as the clans united under a single grand marshal, the size of the parade grew sharply.
The parade will be held this year on Monday, March 17th, on Fifth Avenue at 11:00 am, and it is expected to finish around 4:30, or 5:00 pm.
There will bagpipers, high school bands, and of course politicians marching.
Want to know where the best place to go, to get a good view of the Parade?
They suggest going to north end of the parade route, clear of the shopping and work-a-day crowds on 59th Street. The upper steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the best views for a catching a close-up marchers where the parade turns east on 86th Street.
The New York Convention & Visitors Bureau says that the St. Patrick's Day Parade is the largest and most famous of the many parades held in the city each year, and it's one of the most famous St. Patrick's Day Parades in the world.
I found a great link for you to go to, to see past photos of the New York St. Patrick's Day Parade slideshows. Plus they have in the past honoured the Fire Fighter's Brigade for 911, and a tribute to the fighting 69th Taskforce Wolfhound who served in Iraq and the 19 who were killed in action.
So if you are in New York, and don't know what to do for St. Patrick's Day, bundle up warm, and bring lots of munchies, and head out to the parade. That is a great place to start, finding an Irish Pub, having a nice hot cup of Irish Coffee, or Green Grogg, is a great place to end the day.
If you want to join in the parade, you can go to this link to submit. And if you can't be in New York, you can always catch it on TV.
Want to know more about St. Patrick, and who he was, and learn about St. Patrick's Legends? Check out my article
