St. Patrick's Day, March 17, is in honor of Ireland's patron saint, Patrick.
He was born in Scotland near the
end of the fourth century, named Succat, but baptized as Patricius, which means
"Noble". St. Patrick. Irish raiders captured Patrick when he was around
16 years old. He was taken to Ireland as a slave, and worked as a shepherd.
Apparently it was then that he turned to religion for solace, becoming a devout Christian.
Patrick wrote
that he heard a voice in a dream and believed it to be God. God told him to
leave Ireland and after 6 years in captivity he escaped and walked almost 200
miles to the Irish Coast.
After escaping to
Britain, he had a second dream where an angel advised him to return to Ireland
to preach Christianity. Patrick
began religious training and after fifteen years was ordained as a priest. He
returned to Ireland to minister to the small amount of Christians already there
and to convert the remaining Irish from their nature-based pagan religion. Many
credit St. Patrick with the introducing of Christianity to Ireland.
Rather than
alienating the Irish by trying to eradicating their native beliefs, Patrick
incorporated lessons of Christianity with their traditional rituals. The native
Irish honored their gods with fire, so he used bonfires to celebrate
Easter. It
is believed he was the creator of the Celtic cross, a Christian cross with a
superimposed sun, a powerful Irish symbol.
The tradition
of oral legend in Irish culture exaggerated Patrick's accomplishments over the centuries,
giving him credit for driving all the snakes out of Ireland by beating a drum
and using the Shamrock as a method of explaining the Trinity (Father, Son and
Holy Ghost). He is believed to have died on March 17, around 460
A.D.
The Irish
celebrate St. Patrick's Day as a holy day
where businesses are closed and Mass is attended. It is followed 3 days of
devotion and there are parades and other special functions. Boys wear a harp
badge, girls where green hair ribbons and the emblem of St. Patrick is worn.
Some men perform the Drowning of the Shamrock where a three-leafed clover is
dropped into whiskey, removed and thrown over the left shoulder. The Irish do not dye their beer green.
St. Patrick's Day has
become a party day in the US with the novelty of
green
beer. There are parties and parades and children pinch those who do not wear green.
Green is the color we associate with St Patrick's Day,
probably because it is the color of the Shamrock, or maybe because it is the
color of Spring.
The
leprechaun, a small fairy known to be a recluse and quite cranky, is said to
have a pot of gold. He is a shoemaker and the legend goes that if you hear the
sound of his hammer, you can follow the sound and attempt to catch him.
If you do, he must tell you where his treasure is hidden. Although pictures of
Leprechauns decorate most St. Patrick's Day functions, the leprechaun has
nothing to do with St. Patrick's Day.
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