Every March 17 we are greeted with the traditions of wearing green, parades, corned beef and cabbage, and someone inevitably using the wrong abbreviation for St. Patrick’s Day.
Should you say “St. Patty’s Day” or “St. Paddy’s Day?”
Why Do We Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?
Before we get into how to abbreviate it, let’s first cover why we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
St. Patrick, according to Britannica.com, was kidnapped in Roman Britain when he was 16 years old and taken to Ireland as a slave. He later made his escape, but then returned to Ireland to convert the locals to Christianity.
Churches, schools and monasteries were all built thanks to the patron saint of Ireland before his death on March 17. There’s also a bunch of other legends that involve snakes and shamrocks.
Britannica.com credits emigrants in the United States for turning St. Patrick’s Day into a big party that involves parades, green beer and festive clothing.
Is It Patty’s Or Paddy’s?
The fact that the holiday was popularized in the U.S. is likely contributing to the confusion regarding how to abbreviate St. Patrick’s Day.
While the celebration is for St. Patrick, you should not use “Patty’s” when referencing the day.
St Patrick’s Day Parade Takes Place in Dublin
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“In fact, the name Patrick is an Anglicized spelling of the Gaelic name Pádraig,” RealSimple.com explains. “So with the older Irish spelling taken into account, St. Patrick’s Day is traditionally abbreviated as St. Paddy’s Day.”
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Not only is Paddy’s preferred, but experts also told the website that it is perfectly OK if you’d like to drop “Saint” from the name and simply call it “Paddy’s Day.”
Don’t Use Patty Or Paddy
A case can be made for avoiding any abbreviations for St. Patrick’s Day. While some claim Paddy is preferred, others say the word comes with negative connotations.
Splinter.com says the meaning of the word often comes up in reference to the origins of the “paddy wagon.”
“There are generally two camps of thought about where the term comes from, and both have to do with encounters with police,” the website says. “The difference is whether the Irish were the ones being arrested or the ones doing the arresting.”
Some believe the term was derived from American police officers of Irish descent who were rounding up those believed to have broken the law. Others consider “Paddy” to be a slur for Irish Americans snatched up by police for “acting out against their destitute conditions.”
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