The History of Saint Patrick’s Day

By Abhinav Mishra
Staff Writer

      Saint Patrick’s Day also known as Feast of Saint Patrick is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated on March Seventeenth. This day is named after Saint Patrick, who was one of the patron saints of Ireland. It was in the early seventeenth century, that this day became an official Christian feast day. This is festive day is celebrated by Catholics, Anglicans, Eastern Orthodox Church and Lutheran Church. 
 

     Saint Patrick’s Day is a commemoration to the Saint himself as well as a celebration of the heritage and culture of the Irish in a general. This festivity generally involves public parades and the wearing of the green attire or shamrocks. Saint’s Patrick day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. 

     But this festive day is also widely celebrated in other countries such as Britain, Canada, United States of America, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. Saint Patrick was born in Roman Britain in the fourth century. He had a wealthy Romano-British family. He was kidnapped and enslaved by Irish raiders when he was a teenager. Although he was able to escape after six years and become a priest in Britain, he later chose to return to Ireland as a missionary, in order to help spread the teachings of Christianity to pagans. The original color associated with Saint Patrick’s Day was blue but as time passed on the color green emerged and this association grew. 

     Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn by the people as early as the 17^th century in celebration for Saint Patrick’s Day. Saint Patrick himself also used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the Pagan Irish. St. Patrick's Day was first publicly celebrated in Boston in 1737 where a large population of Irish immigrants resided.  Saint Patrick died on March 17^th and was declared to be a saint by the local church. The term to officially declare a dead person to be a saint is known as canonization.