St Patrick's Day
Strange but true, the man who became St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was born in Wales in about AD 385. His name was originally Maewyn, and he nearly didn't get to be Bishop of Ireland because he wasn’t regarded as being enough of a Scholar. Until he was 16 he was a Pagan. But, he was captured by a gang of Irish marauders and kept as a slave for some six years, during which time he converted to Christianity.
When he escaped from slavery he went to Gaul where he studied in the monastery for twelve years. It was while he was training that he became aware that his calling was to convert pagans to Christianity. He wanted to return to Ireland to work converting the native pagans to Christianity, but the first appointed Bishop there was St Palladius. It wasn’t until Palladius was transferred to Scotland that Patrick was appointed as the second bishop of Ireland.
He worked as a missionary in Ireland for around thirty years during which time he set up schools, churches and monasteries throughout the country. Angered by his success, he was also arrested by the Celtic Druids several times. He retired to County Down and died on March 17th AD 461. And, St Patrick’s day has been commemorated on that day ever since.
There are plenty of myths and legends about St Patrick’s day…with very little evidence to support them. For example, St Patrick was supposed to be able to raise people from the dead. He was also supposed to have given a sermon from a hilltop that drove all the Snakes from Ireland. The legend that has the strongest grounding in truth is the one about the Shamrock. Patrick would use the three leafed shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. He used the shamrock to show how Father, Son and Holy Spirit could exist as three elements of the same entity, just like the leaves of the Shamrock. And from that, his followers took to wearing a shamrock on St Patrick’s Day.
Traditionally Irish families would go to church in the morning on St Patrick’s day before celebrating in the afternoon. All the strict rules of lent were relaxed and people could eat meat, dance, drink and feast. Today, people celebrate with parades, by the ‘wearing of the green’ and of course by drinking Guinness and beer. One reason St. Patrick's Day might have become so popular is that it takes place just a few days before the first day of spring. One might say it has become the first green of spring. In fact the first St Patrick’s day parade took place in the US, with Irish soldiers marching through NY City in 1762.
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