Delaney Mickiewicz joins in the celebration at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Chicago on March 13. (NAM Y. HUH/ The Associated Press)

Saint Patrick’s Day is an honored, traditional holiday originating in Ireland and annually celebrated on March 17. This holiday, stemming from Christianity, has many different symbols, such as the four-leaf clover symbolizing the Holy Trinity, the color green symbolizing luck and Saint Patrick himself, the patron saint of Ireland.

Oddly enough, the original color of Saint Patrick’s Day was blue. Over time it changed to green and now on this special day, people will even dress head-to-toe in green.
When you are younger, it’s a day full of wearing green, eating chocolate four-leaf clovers wrapped in green foil and searching for that lucky clover.

However, as college students, it means something a little different. Sure no one wants to get pinched and one still may attend a parade to watch Irish dancing and grab something to eat, but the focus seems to be more on the nightly festivities of Saint Patrick’s Day.

SMU freshman, Phillip Hayes, said, “It’s a day to be Irish and have a fun time. It’s a night for feasting and debauchery.”

The holiday is not just for the Irish. Sophomore Christina Kearney said, “It’s a fun, festive day that gets people pumped up!”

Saint Patrick’s Day is a day for the campus to literally go green. People can relish in the Christian, Irish holiday with a simple, festive spirit by wearing green on Wednesday: enjoy green food, go to a parade and watch Irish dancing on YouTube.

Phillip Maxwell, senior history major, said, “It’s funny and odd that the entire city comes together for a day of drinking and debauchery when no one really cares about St. Patrick’s Day or what it means.”

Mallory Harrison, senior engineering management and information sciences major, said “St. Patty’s Day reminds me of eating Lucky Charms for breakfast.”