President Barack Obama holds a bowl of shamrocks beside Prime Minister of Ireland Brian Cowen. (Getty)

St. Patrick’s Day celebrations slowly rolled through the country over time—starting with a parade in Boston or New York City, depending on which story you believe, over 200 years ago. But in Washington, D.C., the parades didn’t begin until 1971.

According to organizers, the first one traveled along Massachusetts Avenue, from Dupont Circle to the Robert Emmet statue at 24th Street NW. (Emmet was an Irish Patriot and sympathizer of the rebel colonists of the American Revolution.) It was spearheaded by the Irish American Club, and they remain in charge along with the National Capital Park Service.

That first parade saw just a few hundred participants, but has grown ever since. Today, “the Nation’s St. Patrick’ Parade” features “marching bands, pipe bands, our nation’s military, police, and fire departments as well as floats, novelty groups and those marchers wearing green. [And] trophies are now awarded in a number of categories to participants.” And in D.C., while elected officials may march, those running for office may not.

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern presents President Bill Clinton with a bowl of Shamrocks at the White House, March 17, 2000. (Getty)

But there’s another tradition in D.C. surrounding the holiday: the bowl of shamrocks. Since 1952, one has been presented to the President by the Irish ambassador to the U.S. The first one, however, was simply dropped off, as President Harry Truman wasn’t home at the time. The following year, with Dwight Eisenhower in the Oval, the ceremony started in earnest—Mike Cronin, author of The Wearing of the Green: A History of St. Patrick’s Day, noted that the ceremony has its roots in tourism—”It really has more, in its origins at least, to do with the promotion of Ireland as a tourist venue, and hence income for the Irish state.”

In 1969, Richard Nixon received the shamrocks in what is the now-traditional Waterford crystal bowl that’s flown in every year, according to CNN.

And while the parade may stay out of the political arena, the shamrock bowl hasn’t—during his time in office, Bill Clinton made the ceremony a “permanent fixture,” NPR reported—”He used the glitzy events as a chance to bring both sides together: In 1995, he famously got the Irish nationalist Gerry Adams and Ulster loyalist leader Gary McMichael (whose father died at the hands of the IRA) in the same room, along with Republic of Ireland Prime Minister John Bruton. Doing so helped pave the way to the 1998 peace agreement.” He also brought the term “shamrock ceremony” to the States.

Yesterday, Obama welcomed Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Enda Kenny at the White House; he said, “It is good to welcome back Taoiseach Kenny and the delegation from the Emerald Isle, from Ireland. It is not quite St. Patrick’s Day yet, but nevertheless, we always like an excuse to celebrate our Irish heritage and, more importantly, to once again affirm the incredible friendship and partnership that we have with Ireland.”