St Patrick's Day arrives early 2008.3.19

　　Large crowds turned out to celebrate St Patrick's Day yesterday with festivals in cities across the UK.

　　London's annual parade saw bands, floats and stilt walkers make their way past some of the capital's most famous landmarks in front of tens of thousands of onlookers. There was also a festival of Irish music and dance in Trafalgar Square. St Patrick's Day officially falls today but many people decided to mark the event at the weekend.

　　In Birmingham crowds gathered to watch what organisers say is the world's third largest St Patrick's Day parade, behind Dublin and New York, with 60 floats making their way through the city. Eight bands, including two from Ireland, played at the parade, part of a 10-day festival celebrating Irish culture.

　　In Shropshire more than 500 soldiers from the Royal Irish Regiment battle group marked the occasion at their barracks ahead of a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan.

　　In the Unites States Guinness launched a campaign to make March 17 an official holiday. An online petition called proposition 3-17 hoped to collect 1m signatures by midnight last night to be submitted to Congress today.

　　Meanwhile the Duke of Edinburgh celebrated St Patrick's Day in Germany with former and serving soldiers of The Queen's Royal Hussars (QRH).

　　Matthew Taylor Guardian Unlimited

　　小貼士：關于St Patrick's Day（圣.帕特里克節(jié)）

　　圣帕特里克節(jié)（St. Patrick's Day）在每年的３月１７日，是為了紀念愛爾蘭守護神圣帕特里克。這一節(jié)日5世紀末期起源于愛爾蘭，如今已成為愛爾蘭的國慶節(jié)。隨著愛爾蘭后裔遍布世界各地，現(xiàn)在，圣帕特里克節(jié)已經(jīng)漸漸在一些國家成為節(jié)日。美國從１７３７年３月１７日開始慶祝。