St. Patrick’s Day

Today is St. Patrick’s Day and to learn more about the significance of this day, I turned to history.com where I found a topic page on St. Patrick’s Day.

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17, the saint’s religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century.

The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over 1,000 years. On St. Patrick’s Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon.

Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink and feast–on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

Reading on, it was interesting to learn who St. Patrick was:

Saint Patrick, who lived during the fifth century, is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. Born in Roman Britain, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to its people. In the centuries following Patrick’s death (believed to have been on March 17, 461), the mythology surrounding his life became ever more ingrained in the Irish culture: Perhaps the most well known legend is that he explained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) using the three leaves of a native Irish clover, the shamrock.

The topic page on history.com goes into the details of the St. Patrick’s Day, talking about:

• St. Patrick and the First St. Patrick’s Day Parade
• Growth of St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations
• St. Patrick’s Day, No Irish Need Apply and the “Green Machine”
• The Chicago River on St. Patrick’s Day
• St. Patrick’s Day Around the World

There are more articles regarding St. Patrick on history.com which you may want to explore: