St. Patrick’s Day, a Christian holiday in which celebrators held a religious feast for the death of St. Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint, takes place annually on Friday, March 17. However, over time the holiday has become more secular.

Junior Miriam Pulido said she uses the holiday to celebrate the religious figure St. Patrick.

“I believe in St. Patrick, the one that preaches the Christian faith to people in Ireland, so I celebrate by commemorating him and remembering his story,” Pulido said.

Pulido said she prays to St. Patrick because she admires the way he preached the faith.

“There’s certain prayers that are dedicated to each saint and just ask for intercession for them, which is like talking to them to ask for guidance,” Pulido said. “That’s the main way I do it.”

Senior Ash Mehta said, to them, the holiday means a celebration of family.

“It’s a day where my family has a lot of fun,” Mehta said. “To me, it’s more like Halloween, but I know it’s an important cultural holiday for a lot of people, and I don’t want to diminish that.”

A trademark figure of St. Patrick’s Day is leprechauns. According to Irish folklore, leprechauns were originally called lobaircin, or “small-bodied fellow,” and would leave candy coins in children’s shoes. The tradition of candy-leaving leprechauns carries on to this day

“When we were really young, my mom would put the green leprechaun prints all over the house and leave little candy in the shoes,” Mehta said. “I have a lot of fond memories of doing that for my younger siblings.”

Mehta said they also participated in the tradition of making leprechaun traps.

“My siblings would get together and design the trap together,” Mehta said. “That was a lot of fun.”

Ultimately, Mehta said they view St. Patrick’s Day as a joyful holiday.

Mehta said, “It’s a really fun day with a lot of memories and nostalgia attached to it.”