How Did St. Patrick's Day Begin?
St. Patrick's Day is a holiday that people celebrate around the globe. Traditionally it is associated with the color green, the country of Ireland and "the luck of the Irish," but the history of the holiday shows that St. Patrick's Day originally had nothing to do with luck, superstition or national pride. In fact, St. Patrick's Day has roots in one religion, Christianity. Specifically, St. Patrick's Day is a Catholic holiday. Does this Spark an idea?
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St. Patrick
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The Words of Eternal Life, Wilstar and The Rocky Mountain Family Council all assert that St. Patrick was not an Irishman. He actually was a young boy from Britain called Maewyn Succat. The exact date of his birth isn't clear, but scholars know that he was born in the late 4th century A.D. During this time, bandits and pirates plagued the country, and some of these criminals kidnapped Succat and forced him to serve as a slave as a shepherd in Ireland. During this time, he turned to his religion and God for comfort, and supposedly God came to Succat in a dream and told him to leave. Succat escaped back to Britain and later studied to become a priest in France. He then returned to Ireland and converted much of the country to Christianity. He became "St. Patrick" after he was ordained as a bishop by Pope Celestine I.
Shamrocks
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The shamrock, or clover, is connected to the origins of St. Patrick's Day, which is why it still serves as a symbol of the holiday. The Words of Eternal Life states that, although historians cannot definitely prove that St. Patrick used shamrocks, according to legend he used them while preaching to explain the trinity, because most clovers have three leaves.
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Succat's Birth/Death
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The Irish people wanted to commemorate the work that St. Patrick had done in converting the country to Christianity. They thus made March 17 a holiday. The Words of Eternal Life claims that scholars think this date probably is when Succat (St. Patrick) was born or passed away.
Immigrants
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When Irish immigrants moved from Ireland to nations such as the United States, they brought the traditions of St. Patrick's Day (e.g., feasting, parades) with them. Because large numbers of Irish immigrants entered the United States through Boston Harbor, the first real "American" celebration of St. Patrick's Day was in Boston, according to Sarah Lane of Class Brain. According to Husna Haq of The Christian Science Monitor, the holiday became associated with Irish patriotism only after the Irish used the St. Patrick's Day parades to demonstrate their unhappiness with their social status in the United States.
Misinterpretation
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St. Patrick's Day suffers great misinterpretation in the United States because people began to combine Irish superstitions (e.g., little leprechauns at the end of the rainbow) with the holiday. Those who simply drink green beer or wear clothing with leprechauns and shamrocks thus generally do not have a true understanding that St. Patrick's Day originated to commemorate Christian missionary work.
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References
- Photo Credit Shamrock Patch image by Amie Nguyen from Fotolia.com
