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Event Information:
Boston
is the host city for the South
Boston St. Patrick's Parade, listed
as the second largest parade in the
country, being viewed by nearly
600,000 to one million people every
year. The parade begins at the
Broadway 'T' Station and ends at
Andrew Square, South Boston. Boston
is widely acknowledged as having one
of the largest Irish populations in
the US.
The
Charitable Irish Society of Boston
organised the first observance of
St. Patrick's Day in the Thirteen
Colonies. Surprisingly, the
celebration was not Catholic in
nature, Irish immigration to the
colonies having been dominated by
Protestants. The society's purpose
in gathering was simply to honour
its homeland, and although they
continued to meet annually to
coordinate charitable works for the
Irish community in Boston, they did
not meet on the 17th of March again
until 1794 During the observance of
the day, individuals attended a
service of worship and a special
dinner.
Although Major League Baseball is
still in its preseason spring
training phase when Saint Patrick's
Day rolls around, some teams
celebrate by wearing holiday-themed
uniforms. The Cincinnati Reds were
the first team to ever wear Saint
Patrick's Day hats in 1978. The
Boston Red Sox were the second team
to start wearing Saint Patrick's Day
hats in 1990. Many teams have since
started wearing St. Patrick's day
themed jerseys, including the
Philadelphia Phillies in the 1980s
and Boston Red Sox in 2004. Since
then it has become a tradition of
many sports teams to also wear
special uniforms to celebrate the
holiday. The Los Angeles Dodgers
also have a history with the
Irish-American community. With the
O'Malley family owning the team and
now Frank McCourt, the Dodgers have
had team celebrations or worn green
jerseys on Saint Patrick's Day. The
Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia
Phillies also wear St. Patrick's Day
caps and jerseys. Other teams
celebrate by wearing kelly green
hats. These teams include: the
Chicago Cubs, the Chicago White Sox,
the New York Mets, the San Diego
Padres, the Atlanta Braves, the
Pittsburgh Pirates, the Kansas City
Royals, the Seattle Mariners and the
St. Louis Cardinals. The Washington
Nationals have fan green hat day on
September 17 to represent 6 months
to Saint Patrick's Day.
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