The History of St. Patrick’s Day
Every year on the 17th of March people haul out their best green attire to avoid being pinched, storefronts are decorated with shamrocks and leprechauns and people head to their favourite pub to share in the green-drink festivities which are all a part of notorious St. Paddy’s Day!
But how many people that celebrate this famous day actually know why it is celebrated by so many around the world?
Let’s take a trip into Irish history to learn about what happened on 17 March so many years ago.
The Feast of St. Patrick
St. Patrick’s Day, also known as the feast of Saint Patrick, commemorates the day of Saint Patrick’s death. While St. Patrick’s Day is considered an Irish holiday, St. Patrick was, in fact, neither Irish nor a saint!
Saint Patrick was a citizen of Roman Britain born in the fifteenth century. At the age of 16, he was captured, enslaved and taken to Ireland where he remained in captivity for six years. After his escape, he later returned to teach Christianity to the people of Ireland.
During his life, he became a priest and was responsible for the founding of numerous schools, churches and monasteries throughout the Emerald Isle before his death in 461 A.D.
The most well-known legend of St. Patrick is the explanation of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) using the three leaves of the Irish clover – the shamrock. That explains the association of the shamrock with St. Patrick’s Day!
Despite St. Patrick’s noble efforts, he was never canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church due to the fact that there was no formal canonization process for official sainthood in the 400s.
It was only in 1631 that the church established a feast in honour of St. Patrick’s death on the 17th of March which became recognised as a religious day celebrated with religious services and feasts.
Modern St. Patrick’s Day Festivities
In the 1700s, the St. Patrick’s Day festivities took a turn from the original religious celebrations intended by the founders to a more festive shift. And what is the cause behind this shift?
It is the Irish immigrants in the United States are greatly responsible for the shift in the St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Boston was the first city in America to play host to the first St. Patrick’s Day parade in 1737 with New York following suit 25 years later.
Every year since 1962, Chicago dyes its river green on 17 March in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.
Today cities in the US are the biggest celebrators of St. Patrick’s Day!
While the modern St. Patrick’s Day festivities are largely the invention of the Irish-Americans, in 1995 the Irish government began to join in on the more modern St. Patrick’s Day festivities.
Leprechauns and the Colour Green
So, why is it that “green” has become the colour associated with St. Patrick’s Day?
Originally, blue was associated with St. Patrick’s Day because of the blue adorned by the ancient Irish flag. But it is during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 that green promptly became the new associated colour.
The Irish rebels wore green to differentiate themselves from the British who were clothed in red and, since then, green has become the denoted colour of Ireland.
But what about the leprechauns and their pot of gold?
The original Irish name for a leprechaun was “lobaircin” which means “small bodied fellow”. The belief in leprechauns stems from the Celtic belief in fairies. In Celtic folktales, leprechauns were regarded as cranky souls who repaired the shoes of the fairies.
Leprechauns are also known for their trickery used to protect their pot of gold. Perhaps it is this fiendish trickery that entices people to dress up as leprechauns on St. Patrick’s Day!
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