St. Patrick’s Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick, is a day of celebration of the Patron Saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick was the person who introduced Christianity to Ireland during the fifth century. Before this, Ireland was a nature-based pagan religion with only a small number of Christians.
Patrick used to live in Great Britain before he was kidnapped and sent to work in Ireland at the age of 16. While in Ireland, he spent most of his days working as a shepherd with no socialization, so he found religion as his refuge.
According to history.com, “After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. According to his writing, a voice—which he believed to be God’s—spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland.”
After being stuck in Ireland for a few years, Patrick was able to return to Britain and he decided to begin religious training. After 15 years, Patrick was ordained as a priest and sent back to Ireland, with the dual mission of ministering to current residential Christians as well as converting the Irish.
During Patrick’s mission to convert Ireland, he used his knowledge of the Irish language and culture to help influence them into joining Christianity. Patrick used a shamrock to explain the Trinity.
“For instance, he used bonfires to celebrate Easter since the Irish were used to honoring their gods with fire. He also superimposed a sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross, so that veneration of the symbol would seem more natural to the Irish,” history.com provides.
St. Patrick’s Day came to the United States in the mid-19th century when Irish immigrants traveled to the U.S. to escape the Potato Famine. Due to the Irish Americans’ religious beliefs and unfamiliar accents, they could not find jobs of any kind.
On History.com, St. Patrick’s Day states, “When Irish Americans in the country’s cities took to the streets on St. Patrick’s Day to celebrate their heritage, newspapers portrayed them in cartoons as drunk, violent monkeys.”
The Irish Americans began realizing their increasing population and their ability for political power. They started to organize what was known as the green machine, which became an important part of getting the country to recognize St. Patrick’s Day.
“Suddenly, annual St. Patrick’s Day parades became a show of strength for Irish Americans, as well as a must-attend event for a slew of political candidates.” written in St. Patrick’s Day, history.com.
In 1948, President Harry Truman attended New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. This was a proud moment for the Irish-American ancestors, who fought against stereotypes and racial prejudice. As Irish Americans spread over the U.S., many cities formed their traditions for St. Patrick’s Day.
One of the reasons for wearing green stems from the folklore of leprechauns. The folklore states that leprechauns like to pinch people and wearing green makes people invisible. The color green is also a symbol of good luck and to honor people’s Irish heritage. Even the Chicago River gets dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day.
Saint Patrick was said to have chased snakes out of Ireland, however, there were never snakes in Ireland along with other animals that can be found in North America and Europe. Patrick did not use a four-leaf clover, it’s only said because four-leaf clovers are a symbol of good luck. He also was not associated with green, instead, it was blue, green was introduced to St. Patrick’s Day in the 18th century when the shamrock became Ireland’s national symbol.
