Commonly known as St. Patrick’s Day, The Feast of Saint Patrick is a commemorative cultural and religious celebration of the Roman Catholic feast day of the patron saint of Ireland. During his lifetime, Saint Patrick was known to have established monasteries, churches, and schools while converting the Irish to Christianity.

Saint Patrick died on March 17 in 461, and for those who celebrate its intended meaning St. Patrick’s Day is designated for spiritual renewal.  

If your organization plans to acknowledge St. Patrick’s Day as the holiday approaches, here are a few mindful ways to celebrate in the office.

1. Learn the History

Researching the rich history of Ireland and the significant impact Saint Patrick had on its religious teachings is a great place to start when planning a celebration.

Make it fun by posing trivia questions to your teammates, posting unfamiliar facts about Ireland around the office, or learning one of the traditional Irish Blessings.  

2. Host a Cèilidh

A cèilidh (Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: [ˈkʲʰeːlɪ]) or céilí (Irish pronunciation: [ˈceːlʲiː]) is a social event with Scottish or Irish folk music and singing, traditional dancing, and storytelling.

At the lunch hour, fill the commons or staff lounge with Irish folk music from your favorite online music player. Spotify has curated a reliable list of celebratory songs if you are looking for a place to start.  

3. Plan a Bake Off

There are many delicious Irish baked goods that are sure to please a crowd. Invite your staff to pick a traditional recipe of their choice and replicate it for the entire office.

Some of the more popular desserts are soda bread, porter cake, barm brack, yellowman, and carrageen moss pudding. This traditional Irish pudding is made using Chondrus crispus, a species of red seaweed also known as Irish moss or carrageen moss.

4. Go Green

The easiest way to join the celebration is to wear green. Green is the color now synonymous with St. Patrick’s Day, but the wearing of green only became a tradition in the 19th century. Up until then, the color most commonly associated with St. Patrick was actually blue.