Whenever a holiday comes up, I love to learn how it’s celebrated around the world and in Canada. St. Patrick’s Day has a deep history in Canada, starting in 1759 in Montreal.

In 1759, Irish soldiers celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in the Montreal Garrison after the British conquest of New France. Since 1824, Montreal has held a St. Patrick’s Day parade every year, without exception, until, it pains to write, 2020. It still holds the record for the longest-running St. Patrick’s Day parade in North America (beat New York City’s by three years). 

The Irish community is so significant to Montreal that there’s a green shamrock on the bottom right corner of the city’s flag (accompanied with a blue fleur-de-lys for the French at the top left quadrant, a red Rose of Lancaster for the English and Welsh at the top right corner, a thistle for the Scots in the bottom left, and a white pine tree for the First Nations in the middle).

In Newfoundland and Labrador, St. Patrick’s Day is a public holiday, along with (likely obviously) Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat. 

In Saint John, New Brunswick the holiday is celebrated as a week-long celebration. Manitoba holds a three-day festival to celebrate St. Paddy’s. Vancouver’s parade started in 2004 when The CelticFest Society launched the first annual event. 

In Toronto, there’s been a parade since 1863. The Toronto Maple Leafs was known as the Toronto St. Patricks from 1919 to 1927, complete with green jerseys.

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in all sorts of ways throughout the country and beyond. Sometimes there’s a parade, some live music, maybe some people painted green, but there’s usually a beer or two and a few cocktails. 

This year, maybe we get fancy for St. Patrick’s Day and get creative in the liquid area of the kitchen. Here are some really pretty bar accessories that can add some flare to your Mar. 17. 

10-Piece Mixology Bartender Kit

This kit comes with a rustproof 24 oz cocktail shaker with a built-in strainer and a top sealing shaker cap, a double-sided Jigger – 0.5 / 1 oz (15/30 ml), a mojito muddler, a mixing spoon, a Hawthorne strainer, two liquor pourers, ice tongs, a double lever corkscrew, and a bamboo wood stand.