With the passing of St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th, I noticed how some of the American customs greatly differ from Irish tradition. For those of you that do not already know, St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. He was responsible for converting most of the native pagans to Christianity by establishing monasteries, schools, and churches across the country. His mission lasted for thirty years. He died on March 17th 461 AD, which has since been commemorated as St. Patrick’s Day. The traditional icon of this holiday is the shamrock, which St. Patrick had used to explain the Holy Trinity.

Some believe that corned beef and cabbage is an Irish tradition. However, this is not the case. Most restaurants serve this meal on the holiday because they believe they are following Irish custom. However, Irish native Eoghan Colgan said, “As for the corned beef and cabbage, I have never heard of that. It’s certainly not an Irish tradition.”

It has been documented in history that the Irish did not eat much beef because it was too expensive. Most of the Irish seem to prefer pork, and they consider a dish such as corned beef to be too plain for a holiday. When they traveled to America in the late nineteenth century, beef and salt were a lot cheaper. This is when they began serving meals similar to what an American would find on St. Patrick’s Day. Americans first celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in 1737 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Many Americans enjoy the salty, unique taste of corned beef and cabbage, even though it is falsely presented as the traditional Irish meal. Personally, after learning that the food is not even a true part of my heritage, I am not planning on touching the dish ever again. However, I am sure that restaurants throughout the United States will continue to serve this annually for centuries to come.