St. Patrick’s Day is a wonderful holiday that is well-loved and filled with festive green apparel and delicious food. While we all enjoy any reason to celebrate it is important to ask, “what is St. Patrick’s Day and we do we celebrate it”? This holiday is very well known but how much do we really know about the history behind it? Hopefully this article will answer any and all of your questions about St. Patrick’s Day and its history!

Firstly, “who is St. Patrick and what did he do”? Well, he is a Catholic saint who helped to teach and spread Christianity. He is most famous for his teachings about the trinity where he used the three-leaf clover known as a Shamrock to symbolize the connection between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When he was young, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave. A while after he escaped, he returned to Ireland, and brought Christianity to its people. It is said that he also preformed many other miracles during his life earning his acceptance as a saint of the Catholic Church. To sum it up, St. Patrick is a saint who brought Christianity and its teachings to Ireland and that is why we celebrate him.

Now you might be wondering “why do we celebrate on the 17th of March?”. Well it was the Day St. Patrick is said to have died. It is also his feast day which is way the Roman Catholic church celebrates it on that day. While at the time people had been celebrating his feast day the first Saint Patrick’s Day parade was held in 1601. The parade was surprisingly held in America and not in Ireland. Later in 1772 Irish soldiers who were in the English military marched through New York on this feast day to honor St. Patrick. This kick started the celebration of St. Patrick’s feast day, which only grew from there.

Over the years it evolved into a holiday that not only honors St. Patrick, but in some ways also honors Irish heritage and culture. This special holiday was used to help Irish immigrants in America to keep their traditions alive. Although, St. Patrick’s day is now celebrated in a lot of places; each place adding their own unique spin to this festive holiday. After the Great Potato Famine in Ireland a lot of people came over to the United States. There they used St. Patrick’s Day not only to honor St. Patrick, but to show their pride and strength. Within these parades they celebrated their Irish Heritage and Culture. Although at the time the Irish were treated poorly and struggled to get jobs. So, these parades acted to show their numbers and to voice their opinions. Saint Patrick’s Day certainly showcases the some aspects of Irish culture.

Overall, Saint Patrick’s Day is a wonderful holiday with a rich history behind it that really gives meaning to the day. It serves as a celebration of Irish Culture and Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. The parades for this special day started as a way to help Irish immigrants fleeing Ireland after the famine to feel connected with their roots. Now the parades have become a big event and tradition that all people enjoy watching, including dancing and festive music. The history behind why and how we celebrate is not one linear path, it’s many different events lead to why and how we celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day.