Next Tuesday is Saint Patrick's Day!

March 17th – next Tuesday! – is Saint Patrick’s Day, a popular holiday all over the world.

Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. From about 1845 to 1849, there was a great famine [a time when there was no food] in Ireland. About 3,000,000 people died. At that time, many people left Ireland looking for a better life in other countries like England, America, & Australia. Today, about 40 million people in America (including Bill Clinton) are descendents of Irish immigrants. That’s one of the reasons Saint Patrick’s Day is so popular all over the world.

The main way to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day is to drink beer – that’s one of the other reasons that Saint Patrick’s Day is so popular!

Drinking green beer & Guinness at Murphy’s Irish Pub, in Shinsaibashi, on Saint Patrick’s Day.

Green is the colour of Ireland. If you visit an Irish pub on Saint Patrick’s Day, you should try a green beer and a Guinness. Green beer is just draft beer with food colouring in it. If you have to choose between the green beer & the Guinness, you should choose the Guinness!

There are two really good Irish bars in Osaka. In Umeda, you should go to The Blarney Stone (go to http://www.the-blarney-stone.com/ for information and a map). In Shinsaibashi, you should check out Murphy’s Irish Pub (go to http://www.murphysosaka.com/ for information and a map).

Have a happy Saint Patrick’s Day!