St. Patrick's celebrations are underway in Savannah

Riverboat at Savannah, Georgia

The official observance of the St. Patrick's Day weekend stepped off in Savannah this afternoon with the Jasper Green Ceremony at Madison Square.

Savannah is home to one of the largest St. Patrick's Day parades and celebrations in the world. Hundreds of thousands of people will make it to the city to join in the celebration, which has been observed in the city since at least 1813.  So far as is known, the first parade there was held in 1818.

The main day of events will be tomorrow (Saturday, March 16th), with the annual St. Patrick's Day Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist starting at 8 a.m. and the big parade itself stepping off at 10:15 a.m.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/savannahstpat.