Can Catholics eat meat on St. Patrick’s day?

Although in the Catholic faith, eating meat is generally not allowed on Fridays during lent, there are exceptions this Friday because it’s St. Patrick’s Day.

In the Catholic Church, there are specific days during Lent when the faithful are required to abstain from meat as a form of penance and sacrifice. However, the obligation to abstain from meat does not apply on solemnities, which include St. Patrick’s Day.

Saint Patrick’s Day comes with public parades and festivals, céilithe, the wearing of green attire or shamrocks and consuming traditional Irish food and drink, such as corned beef and cabbage, Irish soda bread, and Guinness beer.

Saint Patrick’s Day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. Saint Patrick’s Day has been celebrated in Ireland since the ninth or tenth century.

Saint Patrick’s Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (for provincial government employees), and the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat.