The Philippines commemorates St. Patrick's Day through national landmarks
St. Patrick's Day is yearly celebrated all over the world in various countries such as the U.S., U.K., Brazil, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand. And this year the Philippines was able to partake in the festivities by granting Ireland access to two of our famous historical sites.
Last March 12, 2022, the Irish Embassy in Manila highlighted the Gates of Fort Santiago and the Rizal Monument in color green to mark St. Patrick's Day which is celebrated every March 17. They invited everyone to Intramuros to share the culture and roots of Ireland while showcasing the symbolic landmarks of the Philippines.
“There are many correlations between Rizal and our own revolutionaries, with many shared philosophies. Rizal's guiding vision was to stand up in the face of oppression, brutality, and inhumanity - these values continue to resonate for Ireland today looking at the situation in Ukraine and in all places experiencing conflict and oppression,” Irish Embassy in Manila shared on Facebook.
St. Patrick's Day honors the death of St. Patrick, Ireland's patron saint. He played a huge role in bringing Christianity to Ireland that's why his day was initially observed with religious services and feasts.
Since then, St. Patrick's Day has evolved into a celebration enriching the culture of Irish people. This involved parades, dancing, feasting, drinking, music, and the use of the color green.
Source: Photo by Pascal Bernardon from Unsplash
People all over the world associate St. Patrick's Day with the color green because of a few reasons. One is because the country of Ireland is called, The Emerald Isle. This is due to the beautiful greenery surrounding the country.
Source: Photo by Amanda Marie from Unsplash
Another reason would be because the Irish Flag had the color green on it. Following traditions, the green on the flag represented the Catholics of Ireland, the orange represent the Protestants, and the white in the middle serves as a symbol of peace between the two religions.
Source: Photo by Pixabay from Pexels
Initially, St. Patrick was shown to be wearing the color blue but since King Henry VIII was associated with the color this changed. The people of Ireland had shown differences with King Henry VIII, rebelled against him, and used the shamrock, a young sprig with the color green that was also used by St. Patrick as a metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity, as a symbol of their identity.
In the Philippines, Filipinos celebrate St. Patrick's Day as a reminder of how Filipinos and Irish people have been able to enrich each other's cultures throughout the years.
