LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Wednesday marks St. Patrick’s Day and Louisville has a lengthy history celebrating the holiday.
It’s never just a one-day ordeal.
From the blessing of the beer to the wearing of green to the St. Patrick’s Parade – it’s a full-on experience.
The annual parade takes us from downtown Louisville down Broadway to the Highlands onto Bardstown Road. Children look on dressed in green garb as parents partake in the annual tradition of green beer.
Looking back in the WHAS-TV archives, the day was celebrated at Flaherty’s in St. Matthews where the parade was more than entertainment. It was also an opportunity where politicians were questioned by former WHAS11 News reporter Mark Pfeiffer about their political futures.
The holiday, which has been celebrated in America for the last 200 years, honors the life of St. Patrick – the patron saint of Ireland but has also come to recognize and celebrate Irish culture.
“No one here really knows why you celebrate St. Patrick's Day but they’re celebrating just the same. Anyway, what other time of the year can you drink beer?", Pfeiffer said in archival footage.
For some, the celebration goes beyond the green beer. In southern Indiana, it really strikes home.
"Ireland is a town in Dubois County, Indiana that numbers fewer than 500 residents -- hardly any of them Irish but St. Patrick's Day does not go unnoticed here," former WHAS11 News reporter Barry Bernsen explained to viewers in 1986.
"We're Germans looking for a chance to party, so we'll go out and party any little opportunity we get," a resident said to Bernsen.
Though now mostly built on families with German heritage, the small town was founded by Irish immigrants back in the 19th century.
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