State Patty's Day reflect the lack of unity on the subject. State Patty's Day State Patty's Day is a student-led holiday that acts as a Pennsylvania State University alternative to the traditional Saint Patrick's Day. It began on Friday, March 2, 2007, because Saint Patrick's Day fell during spring break, which would have left students unable to celebrate the holiday while at school and with friends. The first annual State Patty's Day (so named because the students replaced Saint with State in the name of the holiday) took place on March 2, 2007. Students began flocking the streets of downtown State College, and
Columbus Day as an official state holiday, though many mark it as a "Day of Observance" or "Recognition" and at least four do not recognize it at all. Most states that celebrate Columbus Day will close state services, while others operate as normal. San Francisco claims the nation's oldest continuously existing celebration with the Italian-American community's annual Columbus Day Parade, which was established by Nicola Larco in 1868, while New York City boasts the largest, with over 35,000 marchers and one million viewers. As in the mainland United States, Columbus Day is a legal holiday in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.