St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated each year on March 17, the day on which St. Patrick died. He is celebrated as the person who banished all of the snakes from Ireland. Of course, this is not a true story. It is simply believed because this story has been told for numerous years. In reality, this means that St. Patrick actually rid Ireland of pagan worship as by the time of his death the majority of people in that country had converted to Catholicism.

So, who was St. Patrick? Born in 387 as Maewyn Succat, St. Patrick became the patron saint of Ireland after spending 30 years doing missionary work in this country. As a Catholic priest his mission was to convert all pagan Irishman to Christianity. Besides reaching this goal he also managed to consecrate 350 bishops. The reason why he was so successful is that while he was enslaved by Celtic raiders he learned the local customs, language, rituals and symbols of the Celtic Druids which is the religion that most people in Ireland were practicing at that time. This knowledge served him well as he worked to bring Christianity to the local people in that area. Many people were extremely responsive to his preaching because of his ability to relate to their religion. In fact, his work was so well received that there are a lot of places throughout this country that are named after him today.

While you would think that this would be enough of a reason for Ireland to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, it was actually America that first established this holiday. In fact, the first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place in New York City, New York on March 17, 1762. During this time many Irish immigrants were being discriminated against and needed this occasion for celebrating their Irish pride. However, while Americans were out drinking green beer and having fun, Ireland was looking at this day as a time for a religious celebration. On this day most people do not have to work, instead they attend church, community gatherings and enjoy meals together. Even the pubs were closed on March 17 until 1970. This is somewhat surprising considering that St. Patrick was also highly celebrated for introducing alcohol to Ireland, which has had a long-term effect upon the culture in this area.

Many people make the voyage each year on March 17 to kiss the blarney stone. This is located near Cork, Ireland. It is believed that if you kiss the blarney stone you will be blessed with the Irish “gift of gab.” Obviously a lot of people would like to be blessed with this as many people do try to get to Cork to kiss the blarney stone on March 17 of each year.

Of course, shamrocks are also an important part of any St. Patrick’s Day celebration. This symbol was originally adopted by St. Patrick because the plant was held sacred by the Celtic Druids and thus could easily be used by St. Patrick to demonstrate the meaning of the Holy Trinity.

Today everyone around the world celebrates St. Patrick’s Day on March 17 by wearing green and shamrocks while drinking some green beer. Parades are also still an important part of this celebration.

Similar Posts: