The History of St. Patrick's
Day 
St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th, is an Irish holiday celebrating St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. St. Patrick was born Maewyn Succat of an Italian father & a Scottish mother, sometime around 385 A.D., in Scotland. At the age of 16 he was kidnapped by pirates & sold into slavery for six years in Ireland. After seeing a vision of a ship, St. Patrick planned his escape from Ireland to France, where he became a priest & later a bishop. He adopted the name of Patricus & remained in France for a number of years. As time went by, St. Patrick continued to be inspired by thoughts of bringing Christianity to Ireland. At the age of 60, upon his return, an Irish legend began. It was said that he drove away all the snakes & toads from the land, while standing amid a field of shamrocks. Whether fact or fiction, the shamrock, a three-leaf plant, signifies the Holy Trinity to the Catholics & is still symbolic of the Irish and St. Patrick.
The first St. Patrick’s Day parade, in 1737, was held in Boston as an
expression of ethnic pride by thousands of Irish immigrants. The first parade in
New York City in 1763, however, is still the largest, & most celebrated
parade today. It is an extravagant display, witnessed by more than two million
people. Numerous other parades of marching bands, playing familiar Irish songs
& folk music, fife & drum corps, & thousands of marchers in kilts
& shamrock green, are held throughout the United States on St. Patrick’s
Day.
In the 1820’s the Protestant Ulsters brought their own parade to New York in support of the Orange Order. As a result, the Irish Catholic immigrants sought protection & safety in the Church & its institutions. Perhaps the most famous of these institutions was the Ancient Order of the Hibernians. In addition, to safeguarding the Irish Catholics, the president of the Hibernians, Peter Gaynor, led the Father Matthew Total Abstinence & Benevolent Society in the traditional St. Patrick’s Day parade in 1856. This introduced an atmosphere of peace & restraint & dispelled the belief that the Irish were a loud & boisterous crowd of indolent drinkers. The Order of the Hibernians is credited with increasing the size, number, & significance of the St. Patrick’s Day parades.
Traditions are kept & celebrations are held in Canada, Britain, &
Australia, as well. In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is a holy day, celebrated in
a quieter fashion with religious processions honoring their patron saint. There
are various types of food & drink that are traditional in the United States
& Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day in the United States means corned beef &
cabbage, mulligatawny soup, Irish stew, & soda bread. Ireland celebrates the
holiday with colcannon, a dish composed of mashed potatoes with shredded kale,
onions, & butter. Popular Irish beer, such as Guinness, Harps, &
Smithwicks, Irish whiskey, & Irish coffee are consumed. In many places, the
beer, rivers, & streams are often dyed green on St. Patrick’s Day.
St Patrick died in 464 A.D. & it is not known if March 17th was his birth date or the date of his death. However, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated worldwide by parades, processions, & the “wearin’ of the green.” St. Patrick’s Day is a tradition for people of Irish descent & the expatriate Irish in other countries, as well as by many others who choose to be Irish “for a day.” We honor St. Patrick by expressing our devotion & faith & recognizing the heritage of the patron saint of Ireland.
