St. Patrick’s Day is next Thursday, so I brought back the Canadian St. Patrick’s Day playlist that I started a few years ago and added some more to it to get us ready for the day. And because it is just fun. I found music from Canadian artists to fit the theme. It isn’t all Irish, there is celtic music, east coast music, and indie music that all said St. Patrick’s Day to me in some way.

An annual celebration of Irish identity, St. Patrick’s Day has been a cause for celebration and controversy across the country. Canada’s first St. Patrick’s Day parade was held in Montreal in 1824. Ever since, parades and festivals of Irish culture have been held annually on 17 March in cities across Canada. Typical celebrations include dressing in green, displaying Irish symbols such as the shamrock, and drinking green beer.

The celebrations have been known to cause controversy. St. Patrick’s Day parades were banned in Toronto in 1878, after previous parades sparked violence between Catholics and Protestants. Toronto did not hold a parade again until 1988. More recently, St. Patrick’s Day has been criticized for perpetuating Irish stereotypes, encouraging excessive drinking, and disregarding the cultural and religious significance of St. Patrick.

(Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia)

So however you spend St. Patrick’s Day I hope the luck of the Irish smiles on you!