St. Patrick’s Day and What the Obamas Do to Celebrate

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(WASHINGTON) — The White House is quite festive when it comes to holidays — decking the halls for Christmas, hosting the traditional Easter egg hunts, and turning spooky for Halloween.

Tuesday is St. Patrick’s Day, and the Obamas are going green.

Here are seven ways the first family is celebrating the Irish holiday, and how they have in the past, including old presidential traditions and new ones they’ve introduced:

Host the Irish Prime Minister
It’s a tradition that the two leaders spend this holiday together, and for the fifth time since elected in 2011, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny will travel to the White House on St. Patrick’s Day. Another tradition that dates back to Truman’s presidency is the Shamrock Ceremony, during which the Irish prime minister gives the U.S. president a bowl of shamrocks as a gift.

Dye the White House Fountains Green
The Obamas decided to add their own touch to the White House St. Patty’s Day traditions. Inspired by Illinois, the state where President Obama served as senator, first lady Michelle Obama first requested in 2009 that the White House fountain be dyed green, similar to Chicago’s tradition of dying the Chicago River green.  Accordingly, the fountain on the South Lawn of the White House was dyed green at 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Have a Beer
It’s unknown whether President Obama, who has Irish roots on his mother’s side, will enjoy a pint of Ireland’s most famous brew. But in 2012, he enjoyed a Guinness at a Washington pub called the Dubliner. The White House is also known to brew its own beer, and served the honey ale to guests on St. Patrick’s Day 2011.

Traditional Irish food
To go with the beer, the holiday wouldn’t be complete without some traditional Irish food. This year’s menu of what the White House is serving will be released later Tuesday, though in 2009, the White House went as far as serving green champagne to its guests at the St. Patrick’s Day reception.

Wear Green
Every year, people around the globe celebrate St. Patrick’s Day while decked out in green, including the Obamas. The president sports a green tie every year as part of a political tradition for male politicians, and the first lady has gone all-out in past years on St. Patrick’s Day. Whether it’s her green boots or green dresses, or her green eye shadow and earrings, Mrs. Obama always lives up to her stature as a fashion icon.

Turn the East Room Green
The White House St. Patrick’s Day reception takes place at the East Room every year. The room is immersed in a soft green light as the final touch.

Listen to Irish Music
The White House St. Patrick’s reception is often accompanied by live Irish music performances. There have been a series of musicians and singers in the past years, including The MollyHawks, a Washington, D.C.-based duo who performed at the White House in 2012, and Irish singer Glen Hansard, who performed the year before.

The morning of St. Patrick’s Day in 2009, Chicago’s Shannon Rovers, a Irish bagpipe group, played the pipes in front of the White House before their performance at the St. Patrick’s reception later that night. It was the first time the group has been invited to play at the White House.

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