Today, St. Patrick’s Day is known as the day where everyone goes green — literally. However, we should take the time to learn about its origin and why it deserves to be remembered..
As the holiday where people dress up in goofy outfits and pinch others who don’t have any green on them, St. Patrick’s Day is looked at as a fun tradition. It is celebrated in many countries which Wetravel Academy’s list includes Japan, Turkey, Norway and Argentina.
However, not a lot of people focus on why St. Patrick’s Day is so widely celebrated. The mainstream knowledge is that the holiday originated in Ireland and was centered around Catholicism. The story behind the holiday is both intriguing and important for people to know and remember.
The name of the holiday originated from an apostle named Saint Patrick who became the patron saint of Ireland back in the fifth century.
Biography summarized much of the information on St. Patrick, stating, “Much of his life is unknown to historians and can’t be verified, though some sources have listed his birth name as Maewyn Succat, with the name Patrick later taken on during his religious journeys or ordainment.”
What is currently known is that when he was 16 years old, Patrick was kidnapped by pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland. For six years he worked under a high priest who worshiped pagan gods.
In that time, Patrick became very devoted to Christianity, believing his slavery was a test of his faith.
It was also during his captivity that Patrick had a vision where he saw the Irish people reaching out to him, which resulted in his desire to bring Christianity to Ireland.
At the age of 22, he managed to escape and reunite with his family back in Britain. After spending time in France to study and enter priesthood, he would eventually be sent to Ireland by Pope Celestine I to convert the Irish people.
This would be his life’s goal, which he pursued head on. MSN wrote, “During his life, he became a priest and founded schools, churches and monasteries throughout the Emerald Isle before his death on March 17, 461 A.D.”
Despite the significance of what he accomplished, it wouldn’t be until the early 17th century that the church decided to make March 17 a holiday in recognition of St. Patrick, according to Irish Central.
As time went on, some of the modern traditions we know today began to show up, such as the shamrock becoming the symbol associated with St. Patrick. History wrote that several cities in the New World also held their first parades that were celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.
The holiday would also become associated with the color green due to historical events. Time stated that when the Irish Rebellion occurred in 1798, St. Patrick was originally viewed closely with the color blue. However, since the British had the color blue, they decided to go with the color green.
Today, Irish ethnicity is the second largest ethnic group in the United States with German ethnicity in first place according to the data given by the United States Census Bureau.
While St. Patrick’s Day is normally viewed as a day to go out and party, there are other ways to celebrate this holiday in a more traditional sense. .
One can use this time as a day for the whole family to spend time together. The holiday was viewed originally as being a day of rest for Christians to be able to have quality time with friends and family.
Another can be trying out Irish food recipes to celebrate Irish heritage. These can include both traditional and modern recipes for a fun variety.
And finally, making craft art for both adults and kids that have the theme of St. Patrick’s Day is another fun way to both celebrate and spend time during the holiday.