It won’t be St. Patrick’s Day in the Western world until tomorrow, but our friends in Australia are already getting to celebrate the only holiday that actually encourages people to drink until they’re sick.
The Google Doodle celebrating the holiday uses a traditional Irish design that’s more celebratory of their culture instead of the usual symbols we associate with the holiday like drinking and leprechauns.
The holiday originally came to be in Ireland as a celebration of the life of St. Patrick. It’s passed down that he came to Ireland to spread Christianity and used traditional holiday symbolism like the shamrock to explain Christian doctrine.
In the modern day, the holiday is still a highly religious one in Ireland. It’s celebrated by the Catholic church with services, wearing green and the lifting of restrictions on certain foods and drinking alcohol, which is where we get the rest of the world’s version of the holiday.
In other parts of the world, the holiday is used to spread awareness of Irish culture and celebrate the contributions that the Irish have made around the world.
Australia is no different and celebrates the holiday with the usual festivities. They even go one step further by illuminating the Sydney Opera House in green.
While our friends in Australia are already celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, you can bet your pot of gold that the rest of us are going to be out celebrating it tomorrow.