Origins Of St Patrick's Day

It is generally accepted that the man who became St. Patrick was born around AD 387, and was a Catholic missionary in Ireland during the second half of the 5th century. The details of his life that are universally accepted to come from two authenticated letters that were written by him. When he was around 14 he was captured by Irish raiders in Britain and taken to Ireland as a slave, where he remained until he escaped and returned to his family 6 years later. On his return to Britain he entered the church, and later returned to Ireland as an ordained Bishop. That's about it - that's all that is known factually other than he spent his life working in the north and west of Ireland, but little detail of this time exists. He is said to have died on the 17th of March AD 460 and this is where the date of St. Patrick's day comes from. Whether this is true or even if this was the same Patrick is unclear.

Many stories surround St. Patrick. One of the most often told is that he banished the snakes from Ireland. The origin of this story is most likely a reference to his attempts to drive Pagan Druids from Ireland, their symbol being a serpent. It is unlikely that there were ever actually any snakes in Ireland. The color green probably comes from the three leafed shamrock, which was used by the Catholic ministers in Ireland to teach the concept of the Holy Trinity to the people.

St Patrick's day is held on the 17th of March; the supposed date of St. Patrick's death. On this day, after church services, the people of Ireland were allowed to feast, and was the only day in the 40 day Lent period that Irish catholics were allowed to eat meat and drink. No wonder it became popular!

The modern St. Patrick's day is very much a North American invention, originally brought to the USA by Irish immigrants. Over the years it has become a day to celebrate to excess and wear green clothes and make everything green. It's now a day where everyone, regardless of their place of birth, becomes just a little bit Irish. I hope you have learned a little of the the True Origin of St. Patrick's Day and this will add something to your enjoyment of this 17th of March as you drink your green beer.