OUCH!  If you want to avoid a painful pinch, you’d better be wearing your green today! Yes, it’s March 17^th, the day that has been recognized as St. Patrick’s Day in the U.S. when Irish immigrants in Boston held the first celebration in 1737 as a gesture of solidarity.. But it’s not only celebrated here in the United States, let’s take a look at how people around the world recognize St. Paddy’s Day!

Ireland – the home of Saint Patrick
Recognition of the Saint Patrick’s ‘feast day’ was made official when it was placed on the calendar in the early 1600s. However the celebration has evolved throughout the years, and today, the annual Saint Patrick’s Festival is a a five-day event attracting over 1 million visitors who love to celebrate their “Irish-ness”. The festival includes concerts, outdoor theater performances and fireworks.

Canada
One of the longest-running Saint Patrick’s Day parades in North America takes places in Montreal. The parade has been held yearly without interruption since 1824 and he city’s flag actually features a shamrock in its lower-right quadrant.

Toronto has hosted a parade since at least 1863. And the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team was known as the Toronto St. Patrick’s from 1919 to 1927.

Malaysia
Surprisingly, Malaysia is host to one of the biggest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Asia. The St. Patrick’s Society of Selangor (est. 1925) organizes an annual St. Patrick’s Ball!

United States
Here at home, we celebrate by wearing prominent displays of green, parades and social gatherings. In Chicago, IL they actually dye the Chicago River green. And even the White House has been known to draw on the ‘Luck of the Irish’, turning the water in the fountain on the North Lawn green in 2011!

Oh, and did you know they even celebrate St. Patrick’s Day is space?! Yes, you read it right, astronauts aboard the International Space Station have celebrated the festival in different ways. Chris Hadfield photographed Ireland from earth’s orbit and sent a picture of himself decked out in green on Saint Patrick’s Day 2013.  See it here!

 Here’s wishing  you a Happy Saint Patrick’s Day with this Irish Blessing:

‘May your blessings outnumber,
the shamrocks that grow,
and may trouble avoid you,
wherever you go.’

Info from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick's_Day