The History Behind St. Paddy's Day & Why We Love It

St. Paddy’s Day is undoubtedly one of the best days of the year. And when it comes to the holidays, it may even be the best. After all, Christmas and Thanksgiving are great, but you have to put up with a lot of small talk, family time, cooking, and cleaning. St. Patrick’s Day, all you have to do is show up, party hard, and enjoy the day. What’s not to like about that?

Not to mention, we’re going to go out on a limb and say that St. Patrick’s Day might be the most unifying holiday there ever was. After all, everyone pretends they’re Irish for the day and people are just trying to have fun.

Because of our natural love for anything related to shameless debauchery, we’ve got you covered with St Paddy’s Day shirts, drinking gear, and pro tips you need to paint the town green! Just call us Paddy HQ. So here we are, ready to pass our knowledge and love of drinking on to you.

Before gearing up to party all day and night, you’ll need to look the part. Our St Paddy’s Day shirts allow you to hit the streets in style. Whether you’re “Here to Paddy” or just want to encourage the world to “Keep Calm and Chive On,” we have St Paddy’s Day t shirts that fit the bill. Maybe you might even find some “BFM Luck” as you approach the “Dark Side of the Pint.”

And yes, we may be skipping a few steps here, but if you’re a Chivette –– or you have a girlfriend who is –– these Palm Fronds undies are a must have so you can rock them once you’ve quite literally partied your pants off. No matter what kind of St. Paddy’s you’re after, our St. Paddy’s Day Collection has you covered.

Once you’ve got your look down, you’ve gotta secure the provisions. Beer is a must, but liquor is perhaps even more welcome. After all, nothing says “Happy St Paddy’s Day!” like a delicious Irish whiskey.

If you’re headed out to a parade, however, you can’t just swig from the bottle, unless you’re so committed to badassery that you’re totally ready to risk getting an open container ticket. You’re better off grabbing one of our flasks, like our Whiskey Make Me Do It Flask. This will allow you to discreetly enjoy your St Paddy’s day drinks all day without worry.

What exactly are you celebrating though? Good question. Although we’re fans of the shameless intoxication incited by St. Patrick’s Day, we wanted to provide a real answer to all of our Chivers and Chivettes.

Basically, there was a dude named Patrick, who was actually born Maewyn Succat. He settled upon the name Patricus (AKA Patrick) and was a Roman citizen who was enslaved and shipped off to Ireland. Eventually our boy Patrick escaped, only to return to Ireland as a priest and convert people to Christianity.

After Patrick died, The Church established Saint Patrick’s day in 1631. Since then, century after century, Saint Patrick’s day becomes less and less, uh, saintly. Thus, it’s pretty apt that we’ve shortened things over time from Saint Patrick’s Day to St. Patty’s Day. Simply put, there were no leprechauns, no partying, and surely no green beer involved in the original intention behind March 17.

And finally- to answer the age old question- is it “St. Patty’s Day” or “St. Paddy’s Day?” While it’s been a topic of hot debate over the years, the general consensus is that “St Paddy’s Day” is correct because “Paddy” is the true nickname of “Padraig,” the Anglicized version of Patrick.

In our opinion, whether you call it St. Paddy’s Day or St. Patty’s Day, we’re just gonna call it one hell of a holiday.

Now that you’ve got the low down on all things Saint Patrick, check out our full collection of St. Paddy’s Day swag here at The Chivery.