St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated each year on March 17, the
anniversary of the Saint’s death approximately 460 AD. St. Patrick’s day occurs
during the Catholic tradition of Lent. Meat is traditionally not eaten during
Lent, but on St. Patrick’s Day people were allowed to celebrate with a meal of
Irish bacon and cabbage.
The holiday was brought to America with Irish immigration
during the 19th and 20th centuries. Today we celebrate
with parades, parties, and cabbage and corned beef.
So who was St. Patrick?
St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. He was born in
Britain, and taken prisoner by Irish raiders attacking his family home. During
captivity he worked as a shepherd. It was during this time that he became a
devout Christian, having turned to his religion for comfort.
His religion was different from the Irish tradition, which
practiced a pagan religion. He is said to have developed the dream of
converting the Irish during this time.
After six years St. Patrick escaped to Britain and
eventually became a priest. He was sent back to Ireland as a missionary to
minister to the Christians already in Ireland, and to convert those not yet
Christians.
St. Patrick was successful in his mission in Ireland. He was
loved and respected by the Irish people, who have made him the patron saint of
their country. The anniversary of his death has been honored in Ireland for
over 1000 years.
How do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?
Sources:
We end up not doing much on this St. Patrick's day.
ReplyDeleteIt went as a regular Sunday for us.
I was learnt that on St. Patrick's Day you are supposed to wear something green in order not to get pinched!
ReplyDeleteThank you Yelena and Agnes. :-)
ReplyDeleteI forgot about the tradition of wearing green. It doesn't seem like a very good tradition to where green just to get pinched!
I thought that having something green is necessary to avoid getting pinched.
DeleteWe do not celebrate, in our particular case. All celebrations are pretty and the making of them. Happy Patrick'Day. I hope you have something green for not being pinched.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to read St Patrick live , and to know about the Cathedral is an New York City ,one of the biggest in the world .
ReplyDeleteSorry ,is one of the largest in U S .I hope everybody had a good St Patrick's Day !!!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Maritza and Carmen... :-)
ReplyDeleteEvery culture and every country has a special day to celebrate. The Irish celebrate St patricks day across the U.S with parades and
ReplyDeletemusic. There are recognized symbols like leprechauns, shamrocks,fourleaf clovers, and special food. Everyone prefers to wear green so they do not get pinched. The parade is a opportunity to share Irish heritage whether you're Irish or not. Everything turns green! This is not a special day for me but it's enjoyable.
- Ruth