St. Patrick's Day is an Irish holiday celebrated all around the globe to honor the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick.
When Is St. Patrick's Day?
Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated each year on March 17th.
Note for 2008: For 2008, the Catholic Church has officially moved St. Patrick's Day to Saturday, March 15th to avoid a conflict with the Holy Week leading up to Easter Sunday. Most establishments, such as restaurants and bars, will continue to celebrate the holday on March 17th, and the 17th will remain a national day off from work in Ireland.
Who Was Saint Patrick?
Did you know that Saint Patrick's name at birth was Maewyn Succat? He was born somewhere near the end of the fourth century and took on the name Patrick or Patricus, after he became a priest, much later in his life. At the age of sixteen Maewyn Succat was kidnapped from his native land of Britain, by a band of pirates, and sold into slavery in Ireland. Maewyn worked as a shepherd and turned to religion for solace. After six long years of slavery he escaped to the northern coast of Gaul.
In Gaul, Maewyn became Patrick and studied in the monastery for twelve years. He came to believe that it was his calling to convert the pagans of Ireland to Christianity. Patrick was about sixty years old when he arrived in Ireland he had a winning personality that helped him win converts. He used the shamrock, which resembles a three-leafed clover, to help explain the concept of the Trinity (father, son, holy spirit).
Patrick was arrested several times, but escaped each time. He traveled throughout Ireland, establishing monasteries and setting up schools and churches to aid in converting the Irish to Christianity. Legend has it that Saint Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland. They all went into the sea and drowned. The snake is a pagan symbol and perhaps this is a figurative tale explaining that he drove paganism out of Ireland.
Patrick died on March 17 in 461 AD. That day has been commemorated as St. Patrick's Day ever since. The first year St. Patrick's Day was celebrated in this country was 1737 in Boston, Massachusetts. The saying goes, on this day "everybody is Irish!" Over 100 U.S. cities now hold Saint Patrick's Day parades.
