History of St. Patrick's Day
Growing up we all learned that St Patrick's Day was a Pagan celebration of a particularly meaningful shade of green that requires a physical display of worship in order to avoid physical repercussions… or something like that. But where did all this come from? What's with all the green? And the pinching? And the remorseless debauchery? For that we're going to have to take a little trip back in time.
Before he was the namesake of the second biggest day of the year (as measured by parades per capita) and a patron saint of Ireland, he was a slave taken from Roman Britain to the island of Ireland to work as a herdsman, where his faith was honed. After a daring escape from his captors, he sets out on a series of adventures that will eventually become the history and legend of St. Patrick.
From here on out, however, it becomes unclear which events attributed to St. Patrick actually happened and how closely they relate to their popular depictions. If, for instance, you stumble into an Irish bar this St. Patrick's Day and ask the bartender or a fellow patron what deed St Patrick is most famous for, they will likely respond with the miracle of banishing all snakes from Ireland.
If the bar patron you ask happens to be especially knowledgeable, they may regale you with the entire story that goes something like this: during his escape from Ireland, St. Patrick spread the spirituality that he had been developing during his time in custody – baptizing folks here, spending long hours fasting and praying there. During one such prayer session, our hero was accosted by a bothersome snake. In retaliation, he went on to chase all of the remaining snakes from the land.
An exciting and valiant tale to be sure, but for one minor problem: according to biological evidence, it does not seem that there ever were any snakes in Ireland. Whether this is a result of metaphor or exaggeration is still unclear, but the indelible stamp of his teachings and piety remain in the culture of Ireland and the world. To this day, around the world, priests and religious teachers still use his analogy of a Shamrock to explain the nature of the Christian trinity.
Before he was the namesake of the second biggest day of the year (as measured by parades per capita) and a patron saint of Ireland, he was a slave taken from Roman Britain to the island of Ireland to work as a herdsman, where his faith was honed. After a daring escape from his captors, he sets out on a series of adventures that will eventually become the history and legend of St. Patrick.
From here on out, however, it becomes unclear which events attributed to St. Patrick actually happened and how closely they relate to their popular depictions. If, for instance, you stumble into an Irish bar this St. Patrick's Day and ask the bartender or a fellow patron what deed St Patrick is most famous for, they will likely respond with the miracle of banishing all snakes from Ireland.
If the bar patron you ask happens to be especially knowledgeable, they may regale you with the entire story that goes something like this: during his escape from Ireland, St. Patrick spread the spirituality that he had been developing during his time in custody – baptizing folks here, spending long hours fasting and praying there. During one such prayer session, our hero was accosted by a bothersome snake. In retaliation, he went on to chase all of the remaining snakes from the land.
An exciting and valiant tale to be sure, but for one minor problem: according to biological evidence, it does not seem that there ever were any snakes in Ireland. Whether this is a result of metaphor or exaggeration is still unclear, but the indelible stamp of his teachings and piety remain in the culture of Ireland and the world. To this day, around the world, priests and religious teachers still use his analogy of a Shamrock to explain the nature of the Christian trinity.
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