The origins of St. Patrick’s Day
Throughout the year plenty of holidays are celebrated and people celebrate these without an idea where these celebrations come from and why. Among all these holidays there is one that is considered one of the most fun and colorful holidays of the year, St. Patrick’s Day.
St. Patrick’s Day is a day in which people dress in green colored clothes to follow the tradition of wearing green or get pinched. This holiday is a spring season holiday in which people celebrate with all their friends and family members. People organize parades where one can enjoy delicious Irish foods such as corn and cabbage, Irish beer, and other Irish food and desserts with shamrocks. However, just like many of the U.S. holidays, these originate from out of the U.S. How did St. Patrick’s Day begin?
The name of the holiday usually gives a hint of what the celebration is about, and in the case of St. Patrick’s Day, people can tell and assume that is about this Irish saint named “Patrick.” Interesting enough, this saint was not actually Irish. This holiday originally was meant to be a way to attract Irish-American immigrants to support political campaigns in the U.S. Later in history, this holiday was simply adopted by the U.S. and made it official every year on March 17 for all people.
St. Patrick’s Day celebrates the Roman Catholic patron Saint of Ireland. St. Patrick passed away on March 17, in the year 461. However, Patrick’s real name was “Maewyn” and was not Irish, but British. He was taken to Ireland as a slave herder at the age of about 16. Years later, he was able to escape to France. He spent years in France until around the 440s he went back to Ireland and became an ordained Catholic bishop by the age of 43. When Patrick arrived in Ireland, the isle was mainly Druid or pagan. As Patrick spread Christianity around Ireland he lived in constant danger of martyrdom due to his proliferation of the religion among a Druidic-ruled area. While some purport that Patrick was never officially canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, others argue that a more ancient process for canonization than exists today elevated Sts. Patrick, Columcille and Brigid at the same time through a “Solemn Translation of relics” on June 9, 1186. As Patrick died on March 17, that is the day associated with his feast day as a saint.
The first St. Patrick’s Day was not in Ireland, but it was celebrated in the U.S. Irish Soldiers that were serving in the English military forces would march in New York on March 17, however, it would not be until the year 1601 when it was more officially celebrated in what is now St. Augustine, Florida. Since 1601, The U.S. had been organizing St. Patrick’s Day Parades, but these grew larger in 1772. In 1772, the enthusiasm for the St. Patrick’s Day parades grew considerably in cities such as New York, Boston, Scranton, Pennsylvania, and many more.
During this holiday there are two things that symbolize the spirit and enthusiasm for St. Patrick’s Day: the color green and leprechauns. Ireland had real relationship with the color green. Some people might relate the green color to their colorful and beautiful lush hill, as even the Emerald Isle was related to blue instead of green. This color fact comes from the 1500s. In the 1500s, King Henry VIII of Ireland had a blue flag that represented his reign of terror in which blue represented Ireland for years. However, green was the color of choice for the flag of the Great Irish Rebellion. In 1641, the Irish fought against the English, and thus, it became the official national symbol of pride and rightfulness in Ireland. The U.S. adapted this concept of wearing green attire during St. Patrick’s Day in the mid 1800s. This is also associated with luck; people would suggest that the green color was related to luck because it was the color of U.S. currency.
Leprechauns are another symbol that represents the culture and mythology behind this Irish holiday. Leprechauns were an Irish mythological creature which was spoken about in Irish fairytales. These were described as short people with long reddish beards and red clothes who were experts in shoe making. These creatures are very cautious about their money. They save all their money by hiding it into pots, where they put their gold and valuable possessions at the end of a rainbow.
Leprechauns were not originally related to St. Patrick’s Day until the mid 1900s. In 1959, Disney made a film name: “Darby O’Gill and the Little People” about an old Irish man that befriends a group of mystical leprechauns. This movie was being screened at the same time as St. Patrick’s Day, therefore people started making connections between the release date and the historical background of the holiday, which is
Irish.
St. Patrick’s Day is another joyful and interesting holiday that has migrated from out of the country and has been adopted and adapted all over the United States. Even if people don’t know the history behind these traditions, this is another opportunity to celebrate, enjoy with our loved ones and appreciate the beauty of foreign traditions.
And to my student of Irish-descendent, Alana Miller, thank you!