Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you!
…and Happy Evacuation Day to our Boston friends!
In Boston, March 17 is known as both St. Patrick’s Day AND Evacuation Day. What is Evacuation Day? It’s the day in 1776 that General George Washington and the Continental troops managed to move heavy cannons to the top of Dorchester Heights and force the British to end their occupation of Boston (Washington’s first victory in the American Revolution).
On March 17, 1901, the Mayor of Boston declared Evacuation Day to be a new city holiday – in conjunction with St. Patrick’s Day.
St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Boston predate George Washington’s victory of 1776, as did the custom of parades on St. Patrick’s Day. There is a long history of impromptu parades, but Irish Bostonians held the city’s first official parade on March 17, 1862; this may well have been the first well-organized parade in Boston.
With 22% of Massachusetts residents claiming Irish ancestry, Irish roots run deep in Boston and St. Patrick’s Day is a big cause for celebration. South Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is a huge affair running the Sunday closest to St. Patrick’s Day each year. Up to one million spectators line the streets of South Boston and enjoy colorful floats, Irish and American pipe and drum bands, and some good Irish cheer.
Another important and regularly occurring component of the Boston St. Patrick’s Day festivities includes the St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast – originating over a century ago, and now taking place at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. The breakfast has become a traditional meeting of Massachusetts’s leading politicians. Broadcasted live on a local TV network and online, the breakfast is a time-honored tradition and guests this year include Governor Charlie Baker, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, and Attorney General Maura Healey, amongst others.
Check out BostonUSA.com for some of the local events and restaurant specials happening this weekend in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.
Discover all that Boston has to offer by seeing what to do during your next trip to Boston.
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