St. Patrick’s Day. The streets are awash in vibrant shades of green, and bagpipes play festive melodies. Marching bands parade down the street as onlookers cheer in a sea of emerald. Friends and family enjoy hearty meals and clink pints of Guinness. Ever wonder how this celebration began? No need to chase the end of rainbows, all you need to know is right here.
St. Patrick’s Day is the feast day for the patron saint of Ireland, known for bringing Christianity to the country. It marks the anniversary of his death on March 17, 461. Originally from Britain, he was kidnapped at 16 in the late 4th century by Irish raiders and sold into slavery. He eventually escaped back to Britain after 6 years as a shepherd, later returning as a missionary to convert Ireland to Christianity. A popular story states that he used the 3 leaves of a shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. Also called a “seamroy” by Celts, shamrocks symbolized the rebirth of spring, becoming a prominent symbol of Irish nationalism during English rule. Another story goes that, while on a mission, St. Patrick banished all the snakes from Ireland – a metaphor for the removal of pagan beliefs and the reign of Christianity.
Many common traditions we attribute to St. Patrick’s day aren’t Irish at all, but American instead. Feasts have been held in Ireland in St. Patrick’s honor since the 9th or 10th century, though it was a more solemn, holy occasion than the cheerful, vibrant festivities we know today. In 1601, the Spanish colony of St Augustine, Florida held the first recorded parade in his honor. This and a separate celebration the previous year were organized by the colony’s Irish vicar Ricardo Artur. Later, in 1762 Irish soldiers in the English military held a march in New York city, sparking Irish patriotism. This gave rise to Irish societies, which held similar parades complete with bagpipes and drums. Several of these societies merged their parades in 1851 to form the official New York parade.
Leprechauns are a major figure in Irish and St. Patrick’s Day culture, their name most likely derived from the Celtic word “luchorpán”, meaning “small-bodied fellow”. Usually depicted as tiny men dressed in green with red beards, they are known for their mischievous and deceptive nature. According to Irish folklore, they are said to hide pots of gold at the end of the rainbows, which are impossible for humans to find. If captured, they must reveal their hiding place, but are usually able to get away through clever tricks.
Today, St, Patrick’s day is celebrated globally. A popular meal enjoyed on this day is corned beef and cabbage. Interestingly, this is not traditionally Irish – corned beef was simply a cheaper alternative for Irish immigrants in New York City during the early 1900’s. Wearing green apparel is a common custom in the United States, despite blue being the color originally associated with St. Patrick. Irish folklore considers it a lucky color, saying that wearing green makes you invisible to leprechauns, who like to pinch people. Since 1962, Chicago has had the tradition of dyeing the Chicago River green. What are your fellow Tahoma students doing to commemorate this holiday? One says, “I always help my little sister build a leprechaun trap the night before’”. A teacher shares, “I aways dye our carton of milk green and tell my daughters the leprechauns did it!”
