St. Patrick's Day History & Celebration

There's More to St. Patrick’s Day Than Just Green Beer!

St. Patrick’s Day is a day to celebrate all things Irish. Elaborate parties are held throughout the world, families and public events will hold mountains of food including common Irish cuisine such as corned beef, cabbage, meat pies, and desserts such as teacakes. And one can never forget the drinks that are served at St. Patrick’s Day festivities. But why do we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Who was St. Patrick and why do we hold annual celebrations in honour of him?

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and is one of the most celebrated saints in Christianity today. Born to a very wealthy aristocratic British family in the fourth century, tradition dictated that he become a priest to offer his family tax incentives. At the young age of sixteen, Irish raiders took him as their prisoner and kept him for six years. Living a sudden life of solitude, St. Patrick became very spiritual, as he had only his faith for strength.

During his six-year imprisonment, he heard the voice of God telling him that he must leave Ireland. Escaping from prison, he did as he believed God wanted and went to Britain to become a priest before returning to Ireland to bring his spirituality to the Pagans.

St. Patrick drew greatly on his religion to introduce new customs and traditions to the Irish. He started the tradition of making a large bonfire every Easter to honour God. He also invented the Celtic Cross by placing the image of a sun onto a cross. 460 AD saw the death of St. Patrick and it is believed that he died on March 17th, which is why St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on that day.

St. Patrick’s Day was first celebrated in New York City on March 17, 1762. It originated with Irish soldiers who served in the British army parading through the New York streets to honour their Irish heritage. America’s Irish population then started to expand, especially when the potato famine hit in 1845 and folks from Ireland started to head towards America.

While they may have found some of the things they were looking for, many native Americans saw the Irish as poverty-stricken, drunks who couldn’t be understood through their thick accents. St. Patrick’s Day celebrations became less and less popular. It wasn’t until 1948 when Harry S. Truman was seen at the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade that people started to change their views of Irishmen and celebrations started back in full force once again.

The idea that St. Patrick’s Day is just a day to drink green beer and have loud celebrations seems a bit foolish once one takes the time to understand the history of the day. In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day was actually once seen as a religious holiday and no bars or pubs were permitted to open. Although the celebrations held today are quite different, the Irish won’t forget St. Patrick , or the role he played in Christianity, any time soon.