Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Whether or not they are Irish, nearly everybody in our country wears green on St. Patrick's Day--or they may defiantly choose not to.  A day that was first celebrated in Ireland over a thousand years ago, as a religious holiday, has morphed into a widespread celebration of all things Irish.  So, in New York, people celebrate with a huge parade.  In Chicago, they dye the river green.  In classrooms all over the country, little green-clad men, known as leprechauns, sneak around wreaking havoc.  Bars throughout the U.S., and in many other countries as well, serve green beer, and restaurant fare includes corned beef and cabbage.  

    

 

So, who was St. Patrick, anyway?  Before he became the Roman Catholic patron saint of Ireland, he was born in Roman Britain near the beginning of the fifth century.  When Patrick was sixteen years old, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave.  He managed to escape six years later, and returned to Britain, where he converted to Christianity.  Patrick deliberately returned to Ireland with the intention of sharing the gospel with the people of Ireland.  Because of his efforts, nearly all of the Irish people became Christians.

 

Legend says that St. Patrick drove all of the snakes out of Ireland, but it is highly unlikely that snakes ever migrated, in the first place, to a land surrounded by such cold water.  Instead, this legend probably symbolized St. Patrick cleansing the island of paganism.  Another legend says that St. Patrick explained the Holy Trinity--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--by using the three leaves of an Irish clover called a shamrock.  That's why so many people wear shamrocks on St. Patrick's Day, even now.

Originally, St. Patrick's Day was celebrated in Ireland on March 17, the anniversary of St. Patrick's death, as a religious feast day.   The people would attend church in the morning, and celebrate the rest of the day with dancing, drinking, and a traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage. The day's festivities provided a welcome break in the austere Lenten season as it was observed in Ireland at that time.  Now, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated as a secular holiday in many countries throughout the world.

I don't know about you, but I'll be wearing green on St. Patrick's Day.  Like many Americans, I can claim a little Irish heritage.  However, it doesn't really matter at all because, on St. Patrick's Day, everyone is Irish.