This is when St Patrick’s Day falls in 2021 - but is it a bank holiday?

St Patrick’s Day is celebrated all over the globe each year, with millions of people showing their appreciation for all things Irish.

Celebrations last year looked very different to the usual due to the Covid crisis - and in 2021 it will be a similar situation with traditional parades and parties unable to take place.

But despite the pandemic, plenty of people of Irish heritage will still be going all out for the day in their homes.

So, when is St Patrick’s Day in 2021, is it a bank holiday - and how is the national day celebrated?

Here is everything you need to know.

What is St Patrick’s Day?

St Patrick’s day, also known as the Feast of St Patrick, honours Ireland’s patron saint.

Traditionally, the celebration commemorates St Patrick and the crucial role he played in bringing Christianity over to the Emerald isle.

The saint was a fifth century Christian missionary and priest.

It is thought that he was born in Roman Britain, before he was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Ireland when he was 16.

He later escaped, but while he was on the island the saint claimed to have “found God”.

This compelled him to return to Ireland years later to convert the Pagan population to Christinaity.

After he died, St Patrick became renowned as a legendary figure and Ireland’s most prominent saint.

St Patrick’s Day is observed by religious branches including the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion and the Easter Orthodox Church.

It was made an official Christian feast early in the 17th century, before becoming an Irish public holiday in 1903.

The first St Patrick’s Day parade actually took place in America, and not Ireland, on 17 March 1601.

And a century later, homesick Irish soldiers who were serving in the English military marched in New York City to honor their patron saint.

Today’s New York City St Patrick’s Day parade is the largest in the US, with nearly 3 million people lining the streets to watch the procession which takes more than five hours.

When is St Patrick’s Day 2021?

St Patrick's Day is always celebrated on 17 March, which in 2021 falls on a Wednesday.

This marks the date that the Irish patron saint died.

While the national day is not a bank holiday in the UK, or a federal holiday in the US, it is a public holiday in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.