St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland wasn’t even Irish. He was born sometime between 373 and 385 AD. Historians differ as to the country of his birth, some believing that he was born in Britain, some say Scotland and others Wales. Young Patrick grew up on his father’s farm but soon after he turned sixteen, Irish pirates who raided his village, kidnapped him, took him to Ireland and sold him into slavery. For the next six years, he worked as a shepherd and while watching over the flock at night, he would lie back on a hillside and look up at the heavens, finding strength in his Christian faith. He finally escaped and found a ship that would take him back to Britain or Scotland, or Wales, as the case may be where he reunited with his family.
After his ordeal, Patrick decided that his calling was to study Christianity and go back to Ireland as a missionary in an attempt to convert the Celtic pagans. He traveled to Auxerre, France where he studied in a monastery for twelve years under St. Germain, a French bishop. After that time, his superiors at the monastery reluctantly let him leave and return to Ireland where he spent in Ireland previously, he had become fluent in the Irish language. No one had ever preached Christianity in northern or western Ireland and the Celtic priests were displeased that he was winning so many converts. Patrick traveled throughout Ireland and was chiefly responsible for founding more than 300 churches as well as several schools and colleges. Historians estimate that during his lifetime, he baptized over 120,000 people. Patrick died on March 17 in AD 461 or 493, depending on which historian you believe, and the date of March 17 was commemorated as St. Patrick’s Day.
According to a popular legend, St. Patrick caused all the snakes to leave Ireland by driving them into the sea. The serpent was a symbol commonly used by pagans; therefore, it is thought that the legend was a metaphor, having to do with his driving paganism out of Ireland, especially since no snakes were native to Ireland. Sometimes actual history and legend are difficult to separate.
In Ireland, March 17 is a national holiday but St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated outside if Ireland as well with feasting and parades, especially in cities with a large number of people of Irish descent. The first St. Patrick’s Day celebrated in the United States was held in Boston in 1737.
Now, there are parties held in more than 100 cities. In New York where the largest parade is held and attended by 200,000 participants, barrels of green food coloring are dumped into the Hudson River, making the river run green, symbolizing the country of Ireland because of its lush, green countryside and especially, the color of its shamrocks. The shamrock, the national plant of Ireland has always been associated with St. Patrick’s Day. The name shamrock comes from the Gaelic word seamrog, which means “little clover.” According to Irish legend, Patrick used the three leaf shamrock to demonstrate how three separate elements could exist in the same entity just like the Holy Trinity, and people still utilize the shamrock design and wear something green to honor St. Patrick’s on March 17.
An old Irish blessing goes like this: May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow, and may trouble avoid you wherever you go.
