St. Patrick’s Day

Patrick was a real person, but not much is known of his life. He was born in the late 300s when the Roman Empire extended to England, so he was not “really” Irish — like the vast majority of people who celebrate his day. In his “Confession,” one of only two surviving documents attributed to him, Patrick wrote that while his father was a Christian deacon, he was not devout. At age 16, Patrick was captured by Irish marauders, carried across the Irish Sea and enslaved. Patrick spent six years alone in the wilderness tending his master’s sheep, praying constantly. “It was among foreigners that it was seen how little I was,” he wrote. He began to have visions and hear voices that told him: “Look, your ship is ready.” So Patrick left his first flock and walked 200 miles to the coast. It’s a pretty safe bet he would have loved a beer, green or otherwise, as he stepped into a boat bound for England.

Is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick.

On St Patrick's Day it is customary to wear shamrocks and/or green clothing or accessories (the "wearing of the green"). St Patrick is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish.

In reality, the authentic color for St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is blue. It can still be seen today on Ireland’s Presidential Standard and other ancient Irish flags. In the 1700s, green replaced blue and became the official color for Ireland. It is one of the three colors of the modern Irish flag. Green seems like a more logical choice when you consider that Ireland is known as the Emerald Isle because of its beautiful green countryside. The expression “the wearing of the Green” refers to both the shamrock that St. Patrick used to teach the Trinity and the bright green uniforms worn by soldiers during the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Green has also been the color that represents support for the Irish dream of independence.