Why we celebrate St. Patrick's Day and what to do in Tucson

From rivers dyed green to feasts of corned beef hash, many unique St. Patrick's Day traditions have sprung up over the years. But where does this holiday get its origins?

The roots of St. Patrick's Day can be traced back to Ireland, as many of us know. St. Patrick himself is credited with introducing the country to Christianity sometime in the fifth century.

As the legend goes, St. Patrick used a shamrock to demonstrate the concept of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit — which began the link between the holiday and good luck.

The holiday falls smack-dab in the middle of Lent, where some Christians live under restrictions like no meat. But in Ireland, these were waived for St. Patty's Day, meaning large feasts of corned beef as well as drinking and dancing.

Though Irish people have been celebrating the holiday for hundreds of years, records show the first true St. Patrick's Day parade was actually held in St. Augustine, Florida in the year 1601.

Now, the holiday's largest parades are held in New York City and Boston, according to the History Channel. More than 20,000 people attend these parades every year.

But one of the most famous traditions takes place in the Windy City, when the Chicago River is dyed green on the Saturday before St. Patty's Day.

PAUL BEATY/AP

The tradition actually began in 1962 as city workers used green dye to check for leaky pipes. A group of plumbers decided to dump 100 pounds of this dye into the river as a St. Patrick's Day prank — and it stayed green for a week.

Nowadays, they only use 40 pounds of environmentally-friendly vegetable dye as to reduce the effects of the bright green coloring on the Chicago River.

Although this year's St. Patrick's Day Parade in Tucson is postponed, there are still plenty of ways to celebrate in the Old Pueblo.

The 6th annual Lucky's Bar Crawl will be taking place Friday, March 17 and Saturday, March 18. Tickets can be bought online and are valid for one or both days. There are six different bars on the agenda, including some of Tucson's favorite Irish pubs like O'Malley's.

Included with a ticket is a free drink or shot of your choice, plus food and drink vouchers for select bars.

For the artsy among us, you may be interested in the Paint Party at Hotel McCoy on Friday night. This paint and sip class costs $40 for a ticket and includes all paint supplies as well as a rustic wooden canvas that you get to take home at the end of the night. The painting — fittingly — will be a shamrock and a rainbow.

For family fun, the Color Run is coming back to Tucson at LazyDays KOA Resort on Friday, March 17. There will be a DJ at the start and finish line along with food trucks and plenty of color stations to get your green on.

Adults are $20 and children are $10 to participate. The ticket includes a T-shirt, finisher's medal and a green drink — beer for adults and punch for kiddos.