Saint Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day is just around the corner. As in, it's on Saturday. I was eavesdropping on a coversation my mother was having with someone, when I overheard her say that she couldn't believe that such a religious holiday has turned into a celebration of beer. Okay, so maybe those weren't her exact words, but that's what she meant. But that got me thinking. I had never thought of Saint Patrick's Day being a religious holiday. I must have overlooked the "saint" part. Anyway, Saint Patrick's Day in a nutshell:

The Irish have been celebrating Saint Patrick's Day for over 1,000 years. March 17 brings around the anniversary the death of Saint Patrick, who lived during the fifth century. He was the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. When he was sixteen, he was kidnapped from Roman Britain and brought to Ireland as a slave. After his escape, he is rumored to have returned to Ireland and brought Christianity with him. The shamrock, or what I call a four-leaf clover, is also brought to light during this holiday. Saint Patrick was believed to have used the shamrock to explain the Trinity to the Irish people. Since then, the shamrock has become the national flower of Ireland.

Saint Patrick is known about through his writings, the Confessio, which is a spiritual autobiography, and the Epistola, which is a denunciation of British mistreatment of Irish Christians. In his autobiography he describes himself as being a "most humble-minded man, pouring forth a continuous paean of thanks to his Maker for having chosen him as the instrument whereby multitudes who had worshipped idols and unclean things had become the people of God."

The first celebration of Saint Patrick's Day didn't take place in Ireland, but in the United States, during the eighteenth century when Irish soldiers marched through New York City. This allowed the soliders to reconnect with their culture and show patriotism while in a foreign land. Traditionally, the Irish attend a church service the morning of Saint Patrick's Day before celebrating in the evening with a feast.

This somewhat holy day has turned into a day of celebrating the Irish with colors of green and gold, and of course, the traditional shamrock. Not to mention the leprechauns and their lucky pot of gold. As for the Irish, it can still be a religious holiday consisting of attending mass and offering prayers of missionaries before the celebrating begins.