It’s March 17, and so it is St Patrick’s Day. 
St. Patrick was a 5th century missionary who is Ireland’s main patron saint. The absence of snakes in Ireland gave rise to the legend that they had all been banished by St. Patrick chasing them into the sea after they attacked him during a 40-day fast he was undertaking on top of a hill [I read this in the Wikipedia entry for St Patrick].
There was a little bit of history made in New York City as well, with an LGBT group allowed for the first time by parade organizers to march behind their own banner.
