St Patrick's is a celebration of Irish pride

　　Kids wearing green on St Patrick's Day.

　　EVERY spring, usually on March 17, people all over the world wear silly hats, dance, drink and have fun in the streets.

　　Most of these people will have some connection with Ireland, and all of them will be celebrating St Patrick's Day (圣帕特里克节).

　　The national holiday has become one of the most popular events in the UK, as well as in the US, Australia and New Zealand. For this reason, the saying "Everyone wants to be Irish on St Patrick's Day," is now truer than ever before.

　　Eating and drinking are a large part of St Patrick's Day. Cities all over the world, from Dublin to New York, hold street parades (游行).

　　Irish people have been celebrating St Patrick's Day for thousands of years. Nowadays, Irish people (or those who just want to get into the spirit of things) dress up in green clothes and paint shamrocks (三叶草) on their faces and clothes.The shamrock is a symbolof Ireland. St Patrick is Ireland's saint (圣徒). Although he is very famous, little is known about his life. One story says he drove all the snakes out of Ireland. But this is probably just a story, as Ireland was never actually home to any snakes at all.