Many recognize St. Patrick’s Day as a time to dress in all green and go out and get drunk with friends, but like many holidays, there is a serious origin to this holiday. As the name of the holiday would insinuate, the origin of this holiday begins with St. Patrick of Ireland, one of the world’s most well-known saints.
The story begins with a boy named Patrick who was born in Roman Britain to a rich family. He grew up there until he was about 16 when he was kidnapped by Irish raiders. He was sold into slavery when he arrived there and remained in captivity for 6 years before he was able to escape. During his time, there he looked to God, despite being in a land of Druids and pagan. He also believed if he prayed consistently, God would hear his prayers and grant his wish of returning home.
According to his writing, a voice, which he believed to be God’s, spoke to him in a dream, telling him that it was time for him to leave Ireland and go to the coast. Believing that it was God that told him this, he did just that and traveled 200 miles, by foot, from County Mayo to the Irish coast. At this point, he found some sailors who offered to take him to Britain, where he was returned to his family.
After being home for a short while, he believed that an angel came to him in his sleep and told him that it was his job to return to Ireland as a missionary. After this, Patrick began religious training, which lasted more than 15 years. When he finally became a priest, he was given a dual mission in Ireland: to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish. He was a huge influence in the Irish culture and is the major reason for him being a Saint today.
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17 because it is the saint’s religious feast day and is the day in which St. Patrick died. The first official St. Patrick’s Day Parade occurred in 1848 in New York City. Today, the parade is the largest in the United States, with more than 150,000 participants. Each year, millions of people line the 1.5-mile parade route to watch the procession. Other cities like Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Savannah also put on parades every year with between 10,000 and 20,000 participants.
Every year Americans celebrate this holiday with drinking and partying, but little do people realize, this holiday is much more than that. St. Patrick’s Day is a religious holiday that is celebrated with the utmost respect in Ireland. In fact, up until the 1970s, all bars and pubs would be closed on March 17 in observance of this holiday. It is quite ironic that Americans view this holiday as a time to celebrate Irish culture by drinking, when really the Irish celebrate this time by paying their respects to St. Patrick.