Commemorating Public Holidays In Ireland in 2012
Irish public holidays are very important to the Irish, but the holiday that people from various parts of the world are most familiar with is St Patrick’s Day, which took place on March 17, 2012. Generally speaking people in other parts of the world all wear green on this particular day.
People hold festivals and parades to celebrate Irish culture in honor of Ireland’s patron saint. St Patrick Day became a public holiday in 1903 and is celebrated around the world.
All Important Irish Public Holidays 2012 and Events Surrounding It
It would be best in the interest of all to list the Irish holidays in date order starting from the beginning of the year 2012 through to year end. Some are actual bank holidays, while others are just observed
Here´s the list of Irish national holidays:
- Jan 1st – New Year’s (La Caille in Irish) – Common celebration where most Irish takes time of work. Note that Jan 2nd is also regarded as part of New Year’s celebration and observed by some.
- Jan 25th – Robert Burns Night (Holiday in honor of Ireland’s national poet)
- Jan 27th – Holocaust Memorial Day (It marks the liberation of Auschwitz, remembering the genocide that was carried out by the Nazi regime during World War II which resulted in the death of 11 million people)
- Feb 14th – Valentine’s Day (In commemoration of St Valentine – Celebrated world wide)
- Feb 21st – Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day – The day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of lent where pancakes are eaten before lent starts)
- Feb 22nd – Ash Wednesday (The first day of lent where many christians receive a mark of ashes on their foreheads as a symbol of penitence and mortality
- Mar 1st – St David’s Day (National public holiday celebrated in honour of St David, the patron saint of Wales, who was a Celtic monk, abbot and bishop that lived in the sixth century)
- Mar 17th – St Patrick’s Day (La Fheile Padraig) – Actual National day in Ireland
- Mar 18th – Mother Sunday (Known as Mother’s day where respect is shown to all mothers)
- Mar 19th – St Patrick’s Day (Observed by many follow the actual St Patrick’s day)
- Mar 25th – Irish Standard Time (ISTI) begins
- Apr 1st – April Fools Day (Palm Sunday)
- Apr 5th – Maundy Thursday (Marks the beginning of the three day Easter celebration)
- Apr 6th – Good Friday (Religious Public holiday observed primarily by christian in commemoration of the crucification of Jesus Christ
- Apr 8th – Easter Sunday (Actual Easter day where many christians celebrate Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead)
- Apr 9th – Easter Monday (Observed Easter day after Easter Sunday and is celebrated as holiday in certain large Christian culture such as Ireland where the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox cultures prevail)
- Apr 23rd – St George’s Day (In honour of Saint George the patron saint)
- May 7th – May Day (La Bealtaine – Also called labour day, is on the first Monday of May and a public holiday. It is a Celtic festival and known to be a campaign for workers rights)
- June 4th – June Bank Holiday (Also known as Whit Monday, the first Monday in June used by people to take a short early summer break)
- June 17th – Father’s Day (Celebrated world wide and a day to show respect to all fathers)
- July 15th – St Swithun’s Day (In honour of a patron saint Swithun who was a weather saint)
- Aug 6th – August Bank Holiday (First Monday in August declared as bank holiday due to many sporting and cultural events taking place as well as school holidays)
- Oct 28th – Irish Standard Time (IST) ends
- Oct 29th – October Bank Holiday (On the last Monday in October also called Halloween holiday. A time of cultural festivals on Emerald Island)
- Oct 31st – Halloween (Celebrated world wide)
- Nov 1st – All Saints Day (Christian holiday honoring the lives of saints and martyrs)
- Nov 11th – Remembrance Day (This day is in remembrance of the first World War that ended on the 11th hour on the 11th day of November 1918 where two minutes of silence are observed by many)
- Nov 30th – St Andrew’s Day (Official bank holiday observed in the UK, Ireland and Scotland in honour of saint Andrew from Scotland)
- Dec 25th – Christmas (Declared a public holiday world wide to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ)
- Dec 26th – St Stephen’s Day (Feast of St Stephen which is a christian saint’s day celebration)
- Dec 31st – Hogmanay or New Years Eve (Celebrated world wide – Here in Ireland it is a case of showing the world how to party in style)
Many times people from across the globe come to explore the breathtaking scenery of Ireland and they choose to do so during an Irish holiday festival.
