St. Patrick’s Day today is mostly known for wearing green, drinking green beer, and celebrating being Irish. However, it started as a religious and cultural celebration in the early 17th century on March 17 for the traditional death date of St. Patrick. He is known as the patron saint of Ireland, and was born about 390 A.D. As legend says, when St. Patrick was a young boy he was kidnapped by pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland for 6 years. It is then said that he dreamed he saw God and was told to escape.
He finally escaped and traveled to Britain and then France. He then spent 12 years training in a monastery in France and became a bishop. St. Patrick then had another dream that the Irish were calling him back to talk about God. This is exactly what he did when he received the Pope’s blessing to go convert the Gaelic Irish to Christianity. St. Patrick traveled for 20 years throughout Ireland setting up schools, churches, and monasteries in his efforts to bring Christianity to the Irish.
The tradition of wearing green on St. Patrick’s day comes from the idea that St. Patrick used a three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity; or the concept of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Whether your celebrating the history of this well known saint or enjoying a pint of green beer, don’t forget to wear your green on March 17!
Click here for a list of places you can celebrate St. Patrick’s day around the Reno/Sparks area.
Source: http://www.theholidayspot.com/patrick/historyofpatrick.htm
Featured photo source: http://www.sheknows.com/home-and-gardening/articles/997799/shamrock-houseplant
Photo in blog source: http://stpatrickbridge.org/index.php?page=about-st-patrick
