February 29, 2016
The Origin of St. Patrick’s Day
We have our favorite spots, but have yet to find the ideal retirement location. But as they say, the journey is half the fun!
By Mary Schricker Gemberling
My trip to the Emerald Isle in 2014, certainly heightened my interest in both my own Irish heritage and the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. On March 17th, millions of people will don green and celebrate the Irish with parades, good cheer, and perhaps a pint of beer. But few St. Patrick’s Day revelers have a clue about St. Patrick, the historical figure. It seems the modern celebration of St. Patrick’s Day really has almost nothing to do with the real man! The real St. Patrick wasn’t even Irish! He was born in Britain around A.D. 390 to an
aristocratic Christian family with a townhouse, a country villa, and plenty of slaves. Patrick actually professed no interest in Christianity as a young boy. At 16, Patrick’s world changed dramatically; he was kidnapped and sent overseas to tend sheep as a slave in the chilly, mountainous countryside of Ireland for seven years.
His years of bondage resulted in Patrick becoming a devout Christian. According to folklore, a voice came to Patrick in his dreams, telling him to escape. He found a passage on a pirate ship back to Britain, where he was reunited with his family. The voice then told him to return to Ireland. Over time he was ordained as a priest and spent the rest of his life trying to convert the Irish to Christianity. Patrick’s work in Ireland was tough; he was beaten by thugs, harassed by the Irish royalty, and admonished by his British superiors. After he died on March 1, 461, Patrick was largely forgotten.
Slowly, mythology grew around Patrick, and centuries later he was honored as the patron saint of Ireland. According to St. Patrick’s Day lore, Patrick used the three leaves of a shamrock to explain the Christian holy trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Although there is nothing uniquely Irish about the actual shamrock plant, the custom of wearing a shamrock dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, St. Patrick’s Day merrymakers often wear a shamrock as part of their celebratory costume.
Another St. Patrick myth is the claim that he banished snakes from Ireland. It’s true no snakes exist on the island today—but they never did. Ireland is surrounded by icy waters—much too cold to allow snakes to migrate from Britain or anywhere else. Since snakes often represent evil in literature, “Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland”, is said to be symbolical of driving the old, evil, pagan ways out of Ireland. The snake myth, the shamrock story, and other tales were likely spread by well-meaning monks centuries after St. Patrick’s death.
Until the 1970s, St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland was a minor religious holiday. A priest would acknowledge the feast day, and families would celebrate with a big meal, but that was about it. St. Patrick’s Day as we know it today, was basically invented in America by Irish-Americans.
Irish-American history expert Timothy Meagher said Irish charitable organizations originally celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with banquets in places such as Boston, Massachusetts; Savannah, Georgia; and Charleston, South Carolina. Eighteenth-century Irish soldiers fighting with the British in the U.S. Revolutionary War held the first St. Patrick’s Day parades. Some soldiers, for example, marched through New York City in 1762 to reconnect with their Irish roots. Other parades followed in the years and decades after, including well-known celebrations in Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago, primarily in flourishing Irish immigrant communities. In essence the day has become a way to confirm ethnic identity and to create bonds of solidarity.
Sometime in the 19th century, as St. Patrick’s Day parades were flourishing, wearing the color green became a show of commitment to Ireland. In 1962 the show of solidarity took a spectacular turn in Chicago when the city decided to dye a portion of the Chicago River green. The tradition started when parade organizer Steve Bailey, head of a plumbers’ union, noticed how a dye used to trace possible sources of river pollution had stained a colleague’s overalls a brilliant green. Why not use the dye to turn the whole river green on St. Patrick’s Day, Bailey thought. So began the tradition.
On any given day 5.5 million pints of Guinness, the famous Irish stout brand, are consumed around the world. But on St. Patrick’s Day, that number more than doubles to 13 million pints. Historically speaking, a lot of Irish immigrants came to the United States and brought with them lots of customs and traditions, one of them being Guinness.
Today, the U.S. tradition of St. Patrick’s Day parades, packed pubs, and green silliness has invaded Ireland with full force.
Information for this article taken from National Geographic News, March 18th, 2012, “St. Patrick’s Day Facts, Myths, and Traditions” by John Roach.
Mary, a former educator and Seniors Real Estate Specialist, is the author of three books, Hotel Blackhawk; a Century of Elegance, The West End Kid, and Labor of Love; My Personal Journey through the World of Caregiving ( available at www.amazon.com )
