St. Patrick’s Day 2016
Every year millions of Americans get all dressed up in green and drink lots of alcohol all in the celebration of St. Patrick. St. Patrick’s day 2016 is approaching, and the Boston Parade is this weekend! So get out your green clothing, shamrocks, and get prepared for all of the crazy over 21 celebrations. Everyone can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, so even if you’re not Irish you should celebrate!
Even though millions of people gather to celebrate, a lot of people don’t know why we are actually celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. Keep reading if you want to know the real reason behind the crazy celebration or to know what your talking about when one of your friends ask, “Who even was St. Patrick?”
First of all, you should know who St. Patrick was. He is the patron Saint of Ireland. It is ironic, but St. Patrick was not even Irish, he was actually Italian. St. Patrick was born an aristocrat somewhere in Britain (historians are unsure exactly where), and was kidnapped by Irish raiders and held captive for six years. Patrick became a devout Christian during his time in captivity even claiming to hear the voice of God, which told him to leave Ireland. When he left Ireland and returned home he heard a voice of an angel that told him to go back to Ireland to serve as a missionary. Patrick was ordained to be a priest and began preaching the Gospel throughout Ireland to try and convert the Irish to Christianity. He used shamrocks to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish explaining why shamrocks are a symbol on St. Patrick’s Day. Patrick eventually converted all of Ireland after 40 years, and built the first Irish Church.
So why green? St. Patrick’s day was originally celebrated with a blue color, but now it has changed to green. Ireland’s nickname is “The Emeralds Isle” because of its green landscape, which influenced using green to celebrate St. Patrick. Also, in Ireland the soldier’s uniforms were green, so people started wearing green garments to celebrate their Catholicism. Today in the United States we wear green to show a sense of pride and identification with being Irish.
Now that you have the real story of St. Patrick’s Day celebrate the patron saint at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Boston is this Sunday March 20! It starts at 1!!