Saint Patrick's Day

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Saint Patrick's Day
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Saint Patrick's Day is a cultural and religious
holiday celebrated on 17 March. It is named
after Saint Patrick (c. AD 385461).
Saint Patrick, who lived during the fifth
century, is the patron saint and national apostle
of Ireland. Born in Roman Britain, he was
kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at
the age of 16. He later escaped, but returned to
Ireland and was credited with bringing
Christianity to its people.
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Originally, the color associated with Saint
Patrick was blue. Over the years the color green
and its association with Saint Patrick's Day
grew. Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in
celebration of St Patrick's Day as early as the
17th century. Saint Patrick is said to have used
the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain
the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish, and the
ubiquitous wearing and display of shamrocks and
shamrock-inspired designs has become a feature of
the day. In the 1798 rebellion, to make a
political statement, Irish soldiers wore full
green uniforms on 17 March in hopes of catching
public attention. 
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The Shamrock The shamrock was a sacred plant in
ancient Ireland because it symbolized the rebirth
of spring. By the seventeenth century, the
shamrock had become a symbol of emerging Irish
nationalism. As the English began to seize Irish
land and make laws against the use of the Irish
language and the practice of Catholicism, many
Irish began to wear the shamrock as a symbol of
their pride in their heritage and their
displeasure with English rule.
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The Leprechaun Leprechauns had nothing to do
with St. Patrick or the celebration of St.
Patrick's Day, a Catholic holy day. In 1959, Walt
Disney released a film called Darby O'Gill the
Little People, which introduced America to a very
different sort of leprechaun than
the cantankerous little man of Irish
folklore. This cheerful, friendly
leprechaun is a purely
American invention, but has quickly evolved
into an easily
recognizable symbol of both St. Patrick's
Day and
Ireland in general.
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The Snake During his mission in Ireland, St.
Patrick once stood on a hilltop (which is now
called Croagh Patrick), and with only a wooden
staff by his side, banished all the snakes from
Ireland. In fact, the island nation was never
home to any snakes. The "banishing of the snakes"
was really a metaphor for the eradication of
pagan ideology from Ireland and
the triumph of Christianity. Within 200
years of
Patrick's arrival, Ireland was completely
Christianized.
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Today, people of all backgrounds celebrate St.
Patrick's Day, especially throughout the United
States, Canada and Australia. Although North
America is home to the largest productions, St.
Patrick's Day is celebrated in many other
locations far from Ireland, including Japan,
Singapore and Russia.
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In modern-day Ireland, St. Patrick's Day was
traditionally been a religious occasion. In fact,
up until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated that pubs
be closed on March 17. Beginning in 1995,
however, the Irish government began a national
campaign to use interest in St. Patrick's Day to
drive tourism and showcase Ireland and Irish
culture to the rest of the world. Today,
approximately 1 million people annually take part
in Ireland 's St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin, a
multi-day celebration featuring parades,
concerts, outdoor theater productions and
fireworks shows.
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• http//www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day-symb
  ols-and-traditions
• http//www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick's_Day

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