Saint Patrick is known for being the man who brought Christianity into Ireland. Patrick was brought to the country as a slave from Roman Britain at the age of 16 during the fifth century. After escaping slavery Patrick returned to the country to share the gospel with the people. St Patrick’s Day is celebrated in remembrance of Patrick on March 17 which is believed to be the day he died. In Ireland this holiday is a significant religious holiday that takes place during the Catholic observance of Lent.
Related article: Whats With All the Green: St. Patricks Day
Ireland was the first country to celebrate St Patrick’s Day during the seventeenth century. St Patrick’s Day as we know it is very different from what the holiday started as. Until the 1700s this was a very religious holiday. People would spend most of their day in church praying and treating the day in a very somber manner. Over time the holiday has become much more secular and is celebrated not only in Ireland but also in the United States.
When Irish immigrants started celebrating the holiday in the United States parades and other festivities became popular. These festivities are still popular in the twenty-first century, major cities in the United States such as Chicago, New York, and Atlanta have large annual parades in the city on March 17.
The first thing that comes to my mind when thinking about St Patrick’s Day is the color green. Did you know that green was not associated with Ireland until after Saint Patrick’s death. In the eighteenth-century Irish independence supporters wore the color green to separate themselves from the government who wore royal blue.
Over time the color green was adopted as the national color to replace the royal blue of the past. In present day we wear green on St Patrick’s Day to ward off the pinching leprechauns as it makes us invisible to them. Leprechauns are small figures in Celtic folklore and now are associated with St Patrick’s Day though there is no proof of how that started.
Rylee Schaeffer
Associate editor