by Leigh Bennett

Created on: March 11, 2009   Last Updated: March 12, 2009

Celebrated on March 17, St. Patrick's Day is the feast day celebration and anniversary of the death of the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick. In addition to being a national holiday in Ireland, it is a holy day of obligation for Irish Roman Catholics.

Ironically, St. Patrick was not born in Ireland. He was born Maewyn Succat in Banna Venta Berniae, Britain, now known as Wales, in 387 A.D. Some may also find it surprising that he considered himself a pagan until the age of 16, when he was captured by Irish raiders and sold as a slave in Ireland. He escaped from slavery and returned to his family after six years. After joining the church and studying under St. Germaine, he felt that his calling was to return to Ireland to convert pagans to Christianity. Patrick worked as a missionary in Ireland for 30 years, before retiring to County Down. He died on March 17, 461 A.D., the day has been commemorated as St. Patrick's Day ever since.

Many legends and folklore exist about St. Patrick. It is said that he raised people from the dead. He is most often noted as being the saint who drove all the snakes out of Ireland. Of course, no species of snakes existed on the island at this time, so it is believed this may be a reference to the serpent symbolism of the Druids.

In his missions, Patrick often used the shamrock as a way of explaining the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish. Many would wear shamrocks on their clothing, which they commonly referred to as the "wearin' of the green." This is believed to be the origin of green being used as the traditional color associated with St. Patrick's Day instead of the more traditional and historical St. Patrick's blue.

Many of the other customs associated with St. Patrick's Day have their origins in America and not Ireland, such as parades. The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place in Boston in 1737. Today, the world's largest St. Patrick's Day parade takes place, not in Ireland, but in New York City with over 3 million in attendance. Parades didn't take place in Ireland until 1931, in Dublin. Though secular celebrations do exist, St. Patrick's Day is primarily a religious holiday for the Irish.

It wasn't until the 1990's that the Irish Government decided that St. Patrick's Day could be used as a way to showcase Ireland and its culture. On March 17, 1996 the first St. Patrick's Day Festival took place and was a three day event. By 2006, the festival had grown to five days.

Today, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated all over the world. It is especially common in Ireland, North America, and Australia. However celebrations have also been known to take place as far as Japan, Singapore, and Russia.

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