Who is St. Patrick and Why Are We Wearing Green

There was a time when I could only guess what corned beef was. I knew all about shamrocks, they were the focus of drawing assignments in my grade school art class somewhere right between Christmas and Easter when snow covered the ground the most. The thick cardboard templates of the three-leafed clover emerged from the template drawer when the reindeer ones were put back in, and hung from a hook just left of the spooky painted images by someone named Van Gogh. Drawing them with my green crayon was as natural to me at that time of the year as it was to color pumpkin patch pictures when the leaves turned colors and the air turned cold. But the relevance behind the shamrock assignments was lost to me. It wasn't until I grew a little older that I began to understand the meaning behind Irish symbolism and March 17th.

As I grew even older, I became a stickler when it came to traditional celebrations and the understanding behind their origins, and found myself dismayed with the ignorance of those who participated in festivities and had little clue as to why the festivities were happening in the first place. As an increasing number of non-Irish take part in St. Patrick Day festivities throughout America, Canada, Australia, Europe and wherever else Irish settlers had taken up residency throughout their long history, it is important to know the origins of the day. For those who continue to slip into the category of not knowing why we tip a pint of beer after partaking in a traditional meal of boiled cabbage and potatoes, let me introduce you to what is going on here.

Ireland is hugely rich and vibrant in culture. Its history stretches back far enough to make a head spin, yet there is a certain familiarity that lies within thoughts of plush green landscapes, haunting melodies that carry the exclusive classification of 'Celtic' which doesn't compare to any other musical genre, and ancient ruins that appear in some cases to be near rubble state. Yet all these things contain the power to tug at your ideals of Irish history and tradition. As for religion, there was a time when Christianity was unknown to the Emerald Isle and secular beliefs were the religious tilting.

St. Patrick, who was canonized the patron saint of Ireland long after his death, held a fragmented history with Ireland in the 5th century, and through his own historical steps, paved the way to Ireland's conversion to Christian belief. St. Patrick's Day celebrates this saint (or his day of feast as it is typically referred) on March 17th, the date of his death.

Through the existing evidence of his broken history, we know that Patrick was born to a wealthy, predominantly Christian family named Succat, who resided in Britain. After the invasion of his family's estate by Irish invaders, Patrick was taken prisoner when he was 16 and brought to Ireland where he spent greater than six years in captivity as a secluded herdsman. It was during this time in which Patrick, secluded and scared, turned to the company of his faith to help him through the times of his solitary imprisonment.

It is believed that while shepherding, Patrick was visited by a voice that told him it was time for him to leave Ireland. Listening to the voice, he made his escape and trekked nearly 200 miles from Mount Slemish (the location is disputed by some, as it is also believed that he was in Killala) to the Irish coast and back to Britain. It was some years later while in Britain that, in another dream, an angel told him to return to Ireland. Patrick, now an ordained bishop, followed the angel's order, and embarked on another journey to the Celtic country. Once in Ireland, he began building schools and monasteries and used these places for his missionary work. Through his teachings Patrick employed secular and ritualistic tools of traditional Ireland to help the Christian lessons seem more natural to the Irish. He took the sun, a powerful symbol to Celts, and superimposed it onto the Christian cross. This resulting symbol was the birth of the Celtic cross.

It is also believed that the shamrock, a widely popular three-leafed clover along the Irish landscape, was chosen by Patrick to use as a tool to teach the Christian Trinity; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit united as one being. While the year of Patrick's death is highly debatable with an argued variation of roughly 32 years, it is known that in the 7th century, he was canonized St. Patrick the patron saint of Ireland.

The United States has celebrated St. Patrick's Day since 1737 when the Charitable Irish Society of Boston organized its first parade, however credit is given to New York for holding the first world parade in honor of this day in 1762. Today over 100 cities hold parades within the United States. Likewise, since 1962, the Chicago River has been dyed annually with green vegetable dye, also taking part in this day of all things Irish.

With the history of St. Patrick and his feast day carried with them, the second wave of Irish immigrants into the United States was caused largely by the potato famine in 1845. It is estimated that a million people perished from starvation over the course of five years, and half a million Irish immigrants settled in America. Their religious ideals and strong accents caused them to be outcast, catapulting the black community (who also struggled with similar discriminations) into a higher social standard, and finding work was difficult for the shunned group as a result. Fighting inequality and poverty, the Irish community took to the streets of New York after realizing the size of their ethnic body in a parade, in which media cartoonists depicted the Irish marchers as a bunch of drunk, violent monkeys.

Bound by tradition and falling victim to poverty, the traditional meat of bacon contained in the boiled cabbage and potato meal was substituted with corned beef, a cheaper meat alternative that was introduced to the Irish by their Jewish neighbors in New York. Mixing corned beef into the pot complimented the dish and has remained the signature meal for the day by gently altering tradition in meat choice within America.

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated over a five-day festival of events surrounding March 17th in Ireland. A pilgrimage takes place annually to the Croagh Patrick, a mountain located in Westport Ireland where St. Patrick was believed to have fasted atop the summit for forty days. This tradition dates back well into the Stone Age and continues today making it one of the oldest traditional events surrounding the saint.

Symbolism remains a large part of the celebrations; the wearing of green (Irelands national color denoting the plush green landscape), displaying the shamrock (St. Patrick's chosen tool to assist in teaching the Trinity), the traditional boiled meal (denoting the feast of St. Patrick), and the leprechaun (or lobaircin, meaning small-bodied people). While the leprechaun had nothing to do with St. Patrick, it is a strong, ornery figure in Irish folklore; a fairy responsible for cobbling the shoes of other fairies. In this 'All Things Irish' celebration, it too has taken its place in symbolism.

So for the 'downing the shamrock' or indulging in a pint of beer on St. Patrick's Day, (an allowable and welcomed reprieve from lent), take note at why we are celebrating, who we are celebrating and the long road the Irish community journeyed to get here.

Sources for this article were provided by Encarta.com, Wikipedia.com, History.com, Memory.loc.gov, and Catholic.org.