If there’s one thing San Franciscans like to do, it’s to put on a parade. Since the City was first established in 1850, parades have been held for any and all occasions and the City’s mild temperatures[1] make it so that a parade can be held any time of year.
The first recorded parade to be held in San Francisco was a St. Patrick’s Day Parade[2] in 1853. Irish immigrants came to California in 1849 in search of gold. Most eventually settled in San Francisco (by 1880 the Irish represented one third of the City’s population). For the 1853 Parade, California Governor John Downey invited Patrick Conner, a US Army Colonel stationed in Stockton, to bring his troops and lead the Parade. Conner showed up to San Francisco with his troops, officers and a regimental band. After the parade, a high mass was held at St. Mary’s Cathedral[3] followed by the Shamrock Ball. Since then, a parade has been held every Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day.
Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was actually born and trained as a priest in what is now known as England before moving to Ireland to convert Irish pagans. March 17, 461 is thought to be the day he died.
While other major US cities celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by coloring their rivers green, San Franciscans bring out their snakes, symbolic of Saint Patrick driving paganism out of Ireland. For a few years in the late 1960s San Francisco hosted snake races during Parade day.
Today the St. Patrick’s Day Parade starts at Market and 2nd, makes a right on McAllister and ends at the Civic Center. It is coordinated by the United Irish Societies of San Francisco[5]. The Parade consists of bag-pipe bands, military regiments, floats, and the occasional bystander with a snake draped around their shoulders.
Fun fact – There is a snake named after San Francisco: the non-poisonous San Francisco Garter Snake.
[1] San Francisco weather: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4231
[2] Visit them at www.stpatricksdayactivities.org
[3] Old St. Mary’s Cathedral: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=3506
[5] Visit them at https://uissf.org
