St. Patrick’s Day

What is St. Patrick’s Day?

Ireland celebrates St. Patrick’s Day on March 17 every year to honour the life of its patron saint. The event is a public and religious holiday that has been held for over a 1,000 years.

Who was St. Patrick?

Born in Britain at the end of the 4^th century, St Patrick is best known for spreading Christianity to Ireland. He wrote two short pieces: the Confession and his Letter to Coroticus. At the age of 16, Patrick’s family estate was attacked and he was captured by a group of Irish criminals. During his captivity, he worked as a shepherd and became more devoted to his faith. After escaping, Patrick became a priest and returned to Ireland as a missionary. Contrary to popular belief, Patrick was never actually made a saint by the Catholic Church. This is because such a practice was yet to exist. Rather, due to his popularity and Christian work, the Irish branded him as such centuries later. It is believed that he died on March 17, around 460 A.D.

The Legend

It is said that St. Patrick rid Ireland of its snakes by luring them into the sea after they attacked him during his 40-day fast.

Celebrations

The first St Patrick’s Day celebration took placed in America back in 1601, it would only be in the 10^th century that the people of Ireland would officially celebrate it. In 1848, the Irish community in New York created the official New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which still exists to this day. Since 1962, the American city of Chicago dyes its river green as tribute. In Ireland itself, since the day usually falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish people tend to attend church in the morning and celebrate for the rest of the day. Up until the 1970s, pubs were closed on St Patrick’s Day in Ireland by law. A popular St Patrick’s Day meal is soda bread with corned beef, cabbage and champ. St. Patrick Day celebrations extend to places such as Japan and Singapore. The icon of the holiday is a leprechaun and so many people choose to wear green on the day.