With St. Patrick’s Day coming up this Sunday people are gearing up for all the events taking place this weekend. But how did St. Patrick’s Day become this big of a holiday in the first place?

St. Patrick’s day is celebrated on March 17 because the death of Saint Patrick is believed to be this day.

According to the History channel’s website, Saint Patrick, who was born in Rome, lived during the fifth century. He was kidnapped at the age of 16 and escaped and went back to Ireland to spread Christianity to his people. He was believed to explain the Holy Trinity (father, son and holy spirit) with a three leaf clover, which is why the shamrock is a big symbol for St. Patrick’s Day.

The History channel goes on to say that actual Americanized celebration of St. Patrick’s Day started in 1970. Before than, the St. Patrick’s celebration mirrored the holiday celebration that originated in Ireland.

You don’t have to be Irish to celebrate this holiday, and many states have big parades throughout their towns.

Chicago always has a parade downtown on the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day unless it falls on Saturday. The city also dyes the Chicago river green and has floats and festivities throughout downtown Chicago.

However, some Irish people continue to celebrate this day with some traditional foods such as cabbage and corned beef. Of course, there’s some drinking involved with the celebration for many. There are also traditional Irish families who will not attend the parades or parties that go on this day. Instead, they celebrate the actual death of Saint Patrick.

Senior Justin O’Donnell, who is Irish, mentioned how “the day before St. Patrick’s Day my grandma drops off Irish accessories, and on St. Patrick’s Day my mom always makes corned beef and cabbage because my dad loves it.”

Irish or not you can part take in Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day parade downtown tomorrow. The parade starts at 10:00 am with the dying of the river. For more information visit http://www.chicagostpatsparade.com/