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March is, in some ways, magical. The daylight hours are getting longer, the temperatures are gradually creeping up, and people are slowly emerging from the frozen months of winter. Spring is just around the corner.
You would think that, in such a month, there would be plenty of celebration. Strangely, though, there are relatively few holidays in March. Mardi Gras (also called Fat Tuesday) sometimes falls in March, but it varies with the year and more often falls in February. Beyond that, almost everything else in March is of a more minor variety.
There’s maybe one exception. Arguably the most famous holiday in March is St. Patrick’s Day, which is held on March 17 every year. It’s certainly a big holiday, including in America, where the color green takes over just about everything.
Most people probably assume that Aldi or its distant cousin, Trader Joe’s, are open on this day. But if you’re here, it probably also means you want to make sure. If so, we can tell you that the answer is yes. Aldi is open on St. Patrick’s Day with normal operating hours. Trader Joe’s is also open on St. Patrick’s Day with normal operating hours.
A Little Background
Patrick of Ireland was born sometime around the year 385. According to documents purported to have been written by the man himself, Patrick was born in Britain but was kidnapped by pirates as a teenager and taken as a slave to Ireland, where he escaped from after six years.
Later in life, Patrick returned to Ireland as a Christian cleric and missionary, spreading Christianity to the island. There are a number of legends attributed to Patrick, maybe the most memorable being the one about how he chased snakes out of Ireland. Church tradition holds that Patrick died on March 17th, 461.
St. Patrick’s Day was established as a church feast day in the 1600s and is observed by a number of Christian churches, including the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, and the Lutheran Church. St. Patrick’s Day falls during Lent, but the Catholic Church often lifts restrictions on Lenten food and alcohol consumption for that day.
As you might expect, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated as a public holiday in Ireland. It’s also a public holiday in Northern Ireland, some parts of Canada, and a few British territories. In addition, because Irish immigrants have spread through much of the world over the centuries, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are held around the world, including in the United States.
How Employers Handle the Holiday
In the United States, St. Patrick’s Day isn’t a federal holiday, so virtually all businesses and institutions are open on that day — often with employees wearing green. Aldi US workers probably aren’t wearing green, but their store is open for whatever last-minute Irish food you might be looking to buy.
That’s even true in the home country. Aldi in Ireland is open with normal operating hours on March 17th.
