HÀ NỘI — The Pen Monument in Hoàn Kiếm Lake is set to go green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day – Ireland’s National Day on March 17, as Hà Nội joins the Global Greening Initiative for the second time.

The ‘greening’ ceremony will be held at 6pm and will be followed by the Ireland Day event, a fun-filled free public event of Irish cultural activities organised by the Centre for Sustainable Development Studies (CSDS), a partner of the Embassy.

Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture, Andrew Doyle, will represent the Government of Ireland at the St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations in Việt Nam, and the Traditional Irish Music Society of University College Dublin (UCD Tradsoc) will present some of the best Irish music and dance.

Every year on March 17, Ireland and its people celebrate St Patrick’s Day, Ireland’s national day. With up to 70 million people around the world claiming Irish ancestry and many more friends of Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is a worldwide celebration.

Since 2010 a very special project called Ireland’s Global Greening Initiative has grown to become a significant worldwide campaign in which landmark sites around the world ‘turn green’ to mark St. Patrick’s Day.

This year on St Patrick’s Day, over 300 of the world’s most famous landmarks (stadiums, statues, museums and towers) in over 32 countries around the world, such as the Empire State building in New York, City Hall in London, and the Great Wall of China, will turn green for the day.

Over 10,000 Irish visitors travel to Việt Nam each year, and we have a resident Irish community of about 1,000 who are particularly active in education and business. About 200 Vietnamese students are studying in Ireland. — VNS