ORANJESTAD/PALM BEACH – It will be a long, green and blue weekend! Sunday is St. Patrick’s Day, celebrated mainly in the hotels and bars that are popular by Americans. The color that represents this day is green. Monday is a holiday and the Day of the National Anthem and Flag, in Papiamento Dia di Himno y Bandera. You will see a lot of blue this day, the blue color of the flag to be precisely. Dive into these colorful festivities, you will enjoy!
St. Patrick’s Day
St Patrick’s Day, on March 17, remembers one of Ireland’s patron saints, St Patrick. It largely celebrates Irish-American culture in the United States. This day is the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461), and although he was not born Irish, he has become an important part of the Irish heritage, mostly through his service across Ireland in the 5th century.
Celebrations within the United States concentrate on Irish themed parties, drinks and food. Many people get into the spirit by dressing in green clothing and eating green colored food. Irish clubs and pubs often hold parties or have special deals. Large street parades mark St Patrick’s Day in places like: Savannah, Chicago, Boston, Houston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Denver, Detroit, Toronto, New York, New Orleans and Seattle. Water is dyed green in public places in some towns. The most notable body of water that was dyed green was the Chicago River in 2005. Many stories are told in connection with St. Patrick. The three-leaf clover was said to be used by the saintly bishop to explain the Trinity to the pagans, which is why it is such a common St. Patrick’s Day symbol today. Another legend has Patrick driving all the snakes out of Ireland; snakes were a popular symbol among the Irish pagans. He is certainly one of the most revered saints in the Catholic Church. In Aruba you will find most attention for this tradition in the hotels and bars around Palm Beach.
Day of the National Anthem and Flag
Probably the most popular national holiday on Aruba is the day of the national anthem and flag, Dia di Himno y Bandera.
Everywhere on the island there are bake sales, games and special celebrations and many locals are wearing their tee-shirts with the Aruban flag on this day. A strong sense of pride is displayed allover as Arubans celebrate their Flag and Anthem Day. The Flag of Aruba was officially adopted on March 18th 1976, along with the official anthem ”Aruba Dushi Tera” composed by Padu del Caribe , Hubert Booi and Rufo Wever. March 18th was also chosen for the celebration of the national anthem and flag of Aruba because during the round table conference in the Netherlands, on that date in 1948, for the first time a motion was presented to her Majesty Queen Juliana, which called for the self-determination of the Aruban people.q
