Going To Ireland For St. Patrick’s Day

by Bridget on March 2, 2012

St. Patrick’s Day is just weeks away, and with the glorious celebration right around the corner, people are scrambling to finalize their plans. Why not do something incredible this year for St. Patrick’s Day? Tell your local bartender you’ll see them later, grab your passport, and head off to Ireland! Why would you not want to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day where the guy was actually sanctified? Get ready to add new passport pages and have the time of your life. If you need to get a passport renewal before the big day you better hurry up, as processing time can take up to a couple of weeks.

International Travel

If you are looking to do some international travel for St. Patrick’s Day this year it is important to remember that you are going to need a valid United States passport. Passports give their holders the ability to travel freely from country to country. Unlike the past, even infants are now required to have their own passports for international travel. Make sure your passport is up to date with all the correct information before you begin planning your overseas St. Patrick’s Day getaway.

Celebrations

The reason St. Patrick is celebrated worldwide is because of him ridding the country of Ireland of  all its snakes. This would be an awesome accomplishment, and a sweet reason for people everywhere to binge drink, but the fact of the matter is that it never happened. You see, because Ireland didn’t have any snakes to begin with. In this particular instance snakes were representative of the Native Irish Pagans. In reality, Patrick was born in Britain and came from great wealth. It is believed that he was born sometime around the 4th century.  He was actually kidnapped and brought to Ireland when he was a young man. However, he managed to escape and find his way back to Britain. Regardless of what actually happened, we can all agree, St. Patrick was a rad dude.

History

After St. Patrick returned to Ireland following his kidnapping he began to study to become a priest. His goal was to bring the message of Christianity to all of the Irish pagans that were running around. It was at this point that the shamrock symbol was first introduced in order to explain the holy trinity to people. March 17th, the day of Patrick’s death, is celebrated as St. Patrick’s Day.

Downpatrick

If you are looking for the world’s greatest St. Patrick’s Day festivals, you are going to want to head off to Ireland. Basically, the entire country shuts down on March 17th and comes together to celebrate. The largest celebration in Ireland takes place outside of Dublin in a town called Downpatrick. It is believed that it was in this town that St. Patrick was buried.

Attractions

There are many wonderful attractions for tourists to enjoy when they visit Ireland. It is home to some of the most spectacular natural landscapes in the world. Also, Ireland has an incredible amount of famous golf courses available to the public. If you travel to Ireland, you should also consider checking out the Blarney Stone. Legend has it that anyone who kisses the Blarney Stone will be forever blessed with the “gift of gab”.

Again, if you are trying to figure out where to go for St. Patrick’s Day, why not go to where it all started? Ireland is a glorious country that has many wonderful attractions and things for visitors to do. So get ready to add new passport pages and get a passport renewal taken care of if you need to. Anyone who wishes to travel overseas will need to present a valid United States passport to customs agents. Going to Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day would be one of the most thrilling things a person could ever hope to do. So, grab your passport and go online to book a trip for a journey to Ireland. There, you will be able to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day the way it was meant to be celebrated.

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