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The History of St. Patrick's Day without the Blarney

History, traditions and customs were passed down generation to generation in Ireland through songs and stories. It is no wonder then that many of the stories of St. Patrick have been embellished a bit over the years -- and it's been many years -- the Irish have been celebrating St. Patrick's Day for over a thousand years.

The holiday celebrates the life of a man who was originally from a rich family living on a lavish estate in England, but was destined for a life of service. He was born in England and died in Ireland in 460 A.D., on March 17th, the day that is now his commemorative feast day. When he was 16, he was kidnapped by marauders who attacked the family's estate.

They transported him to Ireland where he was held in captivity for 6 years. During this time he was a shepherd tending sheep and spending most of his days completely alone. It is also during this time that his religion took on great importance to him culminating with a dream in which he believed that God told him it was time to escape his captors and leave Ireland.

And escape he did, traveling on foot nearly 200 miles to the coast where he crossed the channel back to England. Not long after his arrival home he had another vision in a dream. In his dream an angel told him to go back to Ireland, this time as a missionary, so he began his studies to become a priest.

After he was ordained as a Catholic priest, he returned to Ireland to begin his work of converting the Irish from their Pagan beliefs to Christianity. Within 200 years of the time St. Patrick began his work, the entire people of Ireland were converted to Catholicism.

One of the reasons St. Patrick was so effective as a missionary is that he worked to incorporate their beliefs into Christianity in order to make it more familiar, less conflicting with their current beliefs. For example, he incorporated the sun, a powerful religious symbol to the Irish, into the Christian Cross making what is known today as the Celtic cross. He taught the concept of the holy trinity by using the now familiar symbol of Ireland, the shamrock.

Despite the legends though, there are a number of things he did not do. He did not rid Ireland of snakes as it is told. There were, in fact, no snakes in Ireland; instead the snakes serve as a metaphor for ridding the island of paganism.

Today St. Patrick's Day is celebrated around the world. People of all sorts will celebrate the day wearing green, a custom that stems from the Irish tradition of wearing a shamrock to display their national pride. New York City's St. Patrick's Day Parade is the largest in the world with over 150,000 marchers (this year's parade will be on March 17th starting at 11 in the morning). The very first St. Patrick's Day Parade was also in New York (not Ireland) when Irish soldiers serving in the British army marched though the city on March 17, 1762.

In the U.S., Canada, Ireland and England there will be literally hundreds of parades that day. It's a festive day filled with Celtic music and merriment. Many traditional dinners of corned beef and cabbage will be devoured on St. Patrick's Day and happily washed down with a pint (or two). Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day.

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