Celebration of St. Patrick's Day 2026 in The Hague

What King's Day is to the Dutch, St. Patrick's Day is to the Irish. 'Lá Fhéile Pádriag' is the ultimate expression of Irish identity. St. Patrick's Day is the national holiday of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Montserrat, and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The holiday falls on March 17, commemorating the country's patron saint, Saint Patrick. Wherever the Irish community lives, March 17 is celebrated on a grand scale. In the center of The Hague, the major celebration is being held on Sunday, March 15, 2026, from 13:00 PM to 23:00 PM.

Wat is St. Patrick’s Day?

St. Patrick's Day is an annual holiday in honor of the Irish national saint, St. Patrick (or Patrick). It is also the Irish national holiday, which is celebrated exuberantly every year. It is also a special day in many other parts of the world – particularly where many Irish immigrants have settled.

 

When does St. Patrick's Day fall?

St. Patrick's Day falls on March 17 every year. This is because St. Patrick died on March 17, 461. Although the Irish saint therefore lived in the 5th century, the celebration did not take on its current form until much later. Originally, St. Patrick's Day in Ireland was celebrated with church services and religious ceremonies to honor St. Patrick.

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But when Irish immigrants brought the tradition to the US in the 18th century, the day developed into a secular and looser celebration centered on Irish culture. The world's first St. Patrick's Day parade was held in 1601 in St. Augustine, Florida. At the time, it was a Spanish colony, and the Irish priest Ricardo Artur (or Richard Arthur) had taken the initiative for the event.

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But then a century later, in 1737, a St. Patrick's Day parade took place in Boston when Irish soldiers from the English army marched through the streets. And 25 years after that, it was New York's turn, which held its first St. Patrick's Day parade in 1762. Since then, this has happened in many more cities, and the Irish saint is also honored in other parts of the world.

 

What about St. Patrick?

St. Patrick was born in 390 as Patricius in the western part of the Roman Empire (Britannia). At that time, the Irish often sailed to Britain to plunder and abduct people to take back as slaves. This also happened to the then 15-year-old Patricius, who was snatched from his parents' home in the dead of night and spent six years as a slave in Ireland.

There, Patrick had a religious experience, and he felt called to proclaim God's word. When he returned to Britain, he therefore trained to become a bishop. In that capacity, he was permitted to go out and spread the Christian message. He later returned to Ireland and is regarded as the one who introduced Christianity there. The information about Patrick's life comes from a letter he wrote in his old age.

St. Patrick was never canonized by the Catholic Church, but he has nevertheless been considered the national saint of Ireland since the 17th century.

The 2016 stamp (below), illustrated and designed by John Kindness, with typography and layout by Steve Simpson, depicts a young Patrick in slavery with Slemish Mountain (County Antrim) in the background.

 

What is the connection between St. Patrick's Day and a clover?

St. Patrick is often depicted with a shamrock in his hand. This is because he is said to have explained the Christian Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) to pagans using a shamrock. The shamrock and the color green are now Irish national symbols.

The shamrock is an Irish national symbol. The shamrock is a young, still white, clover plant with three leaves. The word shamrock is the English spelling of the Irish word seamróg, a shortened form of seamair óg, which means young clover. According to legends, the shamrock was used by Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland and the person who brought Christianity to Ireland, to explain the Divine Trinity. Later, the shamrock became an unofficial symbol of Ireland. (The official symbol is the harp).

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Shamrock is also the call sign of the Irish national airline Aer Lingus, which uses the shamrock as its logo. The shamrock was used in antiquity for its alleged medicinal properties.

 

The whole world celebrates St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day has grown into a tribute to Irish culture, with parades where revelers wear green suits and top hats. With traditional food, music, and dance, it is a joyful occasion. The many Irish pubs around the world are particularly well-attended on this day.

Sales of Guinness beer skyrocket every year on March 17. On a normal day, 5,5 million of the company's beers are tapped worldwide, but on St. Patrick's Day, that number reaches a staggering 13 million.

On St. Patrick's Day, a day on which a lot of dark stout beer is traditionally consumed. In 2025, due to liver problems, the popular drink will be available in limited quantities, much to the frustration of many Irish pub owners. “What little there is goes mainly to Ireland and Great Britain,” says a pub owner from North Holland. The popular stout beer Guinness has long been loved by rugby fans and older pub-goers, but in recent years it has also been rapidly gaining popularity among young people. Stout is characterized by a dark brown to black color and a burning, bitter taste due to the use of burnt or roasted malt. However, the Irish beer brand cannot keep up with the growing demand, putting many pub owners in a difficult position.

The fact that the beer has become so much more popular has to do, among other things, with a trend on social media. On Instagram and TikTok, the 'Split the G' trend is popular. The goal is to 'split' the letter 'G' on the glass exactly in half in a single sip. A new generation has discovered the stout beer in this way. A bartender on the Amstel also notices that the clientele in Irish pubs is changing. “We really see groups of young people coming in, ordering a glass, doing 'Split the G,' and recording themselves for TikTok and Instagram.”

Many people eat corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day, an old Irish-American tradition. In 19th-century New York, corned beef was a cheaper alternative to the ham eaten in Ireland.

 

Cathedrals all over the world are named after St. Patrick.

St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York is important to the Catholic residents of the American metropolis. It was built in the Neo-Gothic style and opened its doors in 1878.

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St. Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne was built in the Neo-Gothic style, opened in 1897, and was completed in 1939.

Saint Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin dates from 1191 and was built in the Gothic style.

St. Patrick's Cathedral (Irish: Ardeaglais Phádraig, Ard Mhacha) is a Church of Ireland cathedral in Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is the seat of the Anglican Archbishop of Armagh and the Diocese of Armagh. The church's origins lie in a 5th-century Irish stone monastery, said to have been founded by St. Patrick. During the Middle Ages, the cathedral was the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, and one of the most important churches in Gaelic Ireland. With the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, the cathedral was retained by the Protestant Church of Ireland. Following Catholic Emancipation in the 19th century, a new Catholic cathedral was built in Armagh, also known as St. Patrick's Cathedral.

The 2024 English Christmas stamps feature drawings of five cathedrals, including St Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral in Armagh. The Dean of Armagh, the Very Reverend Shane Forster, said he was delighted that the cathedral had been chosen and that the artist had depicted a “beautiful traditional winter scene.” The drawings are the work of Cornwall-based artist Judy Joel. Forster said she deserved congratulations for creating a very special series of Christmas stamps that convey a message of joy and hope at Christmas. “The cathedrals featured on the stamps stand central to every image as symbols of faith and at the heart of their local communities,” he added.

 

This blog is an update of an earlier blog from 2025.

 

<strong> More info: </strong>

Everything about St. Patrick's Day in The Hague:

https://denhaag.com/nl/agenda/st-patricks-day-the-hague

https://stpatricksdaydenhaag.nl/

Irish Film Festival (March 12, 14, 15, 2026, Pathe Buitenhof, The Hague):

https://www.ireland.com/nl-nl/features/bene/ierland-filmfestival/

Alles over St. Patrick’s Day:

https://www.ireland.com/nl-nl/things-to-do/themes/culture/st-patricks-day/