St Patrick’s Day
As you probably already know, St Patrick’s day celebrates St Patrick, known as the patron saint of Ireland. It is a religious holiday and is commemorated on March 17th. This holiday showcases the rich Irish culture and can be fun with parades, music, and dancing.
But what is St Patrick’s Day really about? What is the significance of the shamrock, the Leprechaun and even the corn beef? In this post, we discuss the history of St Patrick’s Day and some popular traditions associated with this holiday.
History
In the 5th century, a 16-year-old boy known as Maewyn Succat was kidnapped by Irish Marauders. They took him into slavery, where he tended to sheep. It was a hard time, and he turned to God to help him endure. Six years later, he managed to escape but received a vision from God to return. He was to help the people of Ireland.
So, in 432 AD, he took his vows as a priest, changed his name to Patrick and went back to Ireland. There he helped spread Christianity to the Irish, established schools, monasteries and churches. When he died on March 17th, 461 AD, the date was chosen to celebrate and commemorate him.
Celebration of St Patrick’s Day
Irish people traditionally marked St Patrick’s Day as a holiday day. All shops and stores were closed to allow them to attend church. Since this festival is during Lent, the feast of St Patrick allowed people to take a day’s break from the restrictions of lent too.
St Patrick’s day is also on the day that signifies the first signs of spring. It’s goodbye to the bitter winter and hello to warm weather. This helps to make the celebration even more fun. This is where the tradition of drinking ale during the festivities comes down from and also the colour green.
St Patrick’s Day in America and Modern Times
There was an awful famine that happened in Ireland in the 19th century. It was so bad that many starved in their homes. As a result, many Irish people left for far off lands like America, Canada and Australia. With them, they brought their customs and celebrations. One of these was St Patrick’s day.
Important St Patrick’s Day Traditions from Around the World
Modern-day St Patrick’s Day celebrations are known for many things. Some of them include parades, shamrocks, leprechauns, green and ale. Here are some of the traditions associated with this day, their history and their significance.
The Shamrock
It is believed that St Patrick used the shamrock to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity when teaching. It showed how three individual units could be a part of one body. Since the shamrock was also a symbol of Irish nationalism, many parishioners began to wear it to his services.
Today, wearing green on St Patrick’s day represents something similar. It is used to celebrate spring, Ireland and the shamrock. So when next you take out your greens for St Patrick’s day, keep this in mind.
Irish Music
Music has always been a massive part of Irish culture. They used it to pass down culture, religion and legends. As a result, music is also associated with St Patrick’s day. That’s why we get to see the fiddles, uilleann pipes, tin whistle and bodhran in use.
The Snake
Legend has it that St Patrick once stood on a hilltop in Ireland with a wooden staff and banished all the snakes. We now know that snakes in this story meant paganism. Within 200 years of his arrival, the whole of Ireland was Christianised. We know this because Ireland was never home to snakes in the first place.
Corned Beef
This tradition is not from Ireland but actually comes from the US. Corn beef only became associated with St Patrick’s day in the 20th century. This happened because the Irish Bacon traditionally used for celebrations was expensive. They needed a cheaper alternative, and their Jewish neighbours suggested corn beef.
The Leprechaun
The Leprechaun comes from Irish Folklore and stems from the belief in fairies. While they have their own celebration on May 13th, they are also used on St Patrick’s day. This is because of the influence of Irish Culture on the day.
In Conclusion
St Patrick’s Day has a lovely rich Irish history and is celebrated in Ireland and worldwide. Are you a part of this celebration, and how do you commemorate this special day? Feel free to share this with us below.
Till then, See you next week!
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