History of St. Patrick's Day
Every year on March 17th, we celebrate all things
green, watch the St. Patrick’s Day parade, and maybe even get pinched! St.
Patrick’s Day is full fun tradition—but what is the purpose? Who was St.
Patrick, and what did he do? St. Patrick (also known as Maewyn Succat) was the
patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. Although he was born in Roman
Britain, he was taken to Ireland as a slave at the age of sixteen. There he was
kept in captivity for six years! He eventually escaped, converted to
Christianity, and moved back to Ireland as a missionary. Sure St. Patrick has an
interesting history, but that doesn't explain why we wear green. As a
missionary, St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. Each
leaf represented a different part of the Holy Trinity—The Father, His Son and
the Holy Spirit. St. Patrick died on March 17, 461. To honor his teachings, people
would wear shamrocks (on March 17) to show their Christian pride! The tradition
eventually grew from wearing shamrocks to wearing green clothing instead, which
we still do today! Even though St. Patrick was an apostle of Ireland, the St.
Patrick’s Day parade started in America! The first parade was very small. It
took place when a few soldiers from Ireland marched to a tavern in lower
Manhattan. Irish traditions continued in the United States—partially because of
immigration that took place during the 1840 potato famine. This brought many
Irish citizens to America. Today’s St. Patrick’s Day parade honors Irish
tradition with over 200,000 people marching down the streets of New York City! St.
Patrick himself is the reason we wear green (besides to avoid being pinched!).
March 17th will forever be a day to celebrate the Irish!
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I liked your blog post! I thought it was a good idea that you told a lot about why we celebrate St. Patrick day.
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