St. Patrick's Day Parades in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is home to the second oldest St. Patrick's Day celebration in the U.S.A. , in historic Philadelphia. There are several other St. Patrick's Parades in the state of Pennsylvania. The Parades listed below are on the weekend before, and the weekend of, the Irish holiday.

St. Patrick's Day is a celebration honoring Saint Patrick, patron saint of Ireland. St. Patrick was born more than 1600 years ago. He had a tumultuous life, being enslaved in Ireland at the age of 16. He worked as a shepherd until he escaped. He went to France and became a priest. Eventually he was returned to Ireland. where he spent 30 years converting the Irish to Christianity,. He was devoted to this ministry until the time of his death. The legend of St. Patrick is that he drove the snakes from Ireland. However, Ireland is an island without snakes. There were probably never any snakes in Ireland. The snakes of legend, were likely symbolic of the many pagans that he converted to Christianity. Snakes had been a symbol of evil since the story of the Garden of Eden in the Bible Book of Genesis. St. Patrick is also credited with using the simple shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity of The God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to the Irish. The shamrock has been associated with St. Patrick and the Irish people ever since. Today 93% of Ireland is Catholic.

The St. Patrick's celebrations in the U.S.A. honor the Irish immigrants who were an important part of our nation's heritage.
Many Catholics start the holiday by attending Mass, in honor of their patron saint

The St. Patrick's Day holiday is a festive celebration, with many people wearing green clothing, armbands and carnations. Parades all over the country will have floats, bands, bagpipes and leprechauns.

Following are parades in the state of Pennsylvania: