For many people, the mere mention of St. Patricks Day conjures up images of everything from green beer and shamrocks to leprechauns and pots of gold. However, did you know about the following array of interesting, little-known facts about the historic holiday? St. Patrick, the holidays namesake, was a Christian missionary who was captured in Wales by Irish raiders at the age of 16 and taken back to Ireland, where he was made a slave. After six years, he escaped and returned home to his family in Britain. He later returned to Ireland as an ordained bishop and soon became a beloved patron saint. Although St. Patrick is best-known for his religious teachings throughout the island country of Ireland, he didnt gain an intense interest in Christianity until he was enslaved by the Irish during his late teens and early 20s. Forced to spend most of his time by himself, the lonely man turned to religion and became a devout Christian. He dreamed of converting the native pagans of Ireland into Christians. St. Patricks Day, which is celebrated on March 17 each year, marks the date of the saints death in the fifth century, not his birth, as many people mistakenly believe. The holiday is typically celebrated with a hearty feast in Ireland to honor the countrys most notable and recognizable saint, who died in 461 A.D. The very first St. Patricks Day parade was held in the United States, not Ireland. Irish soldiers who were currently serving in the English military took to the streets of New York City on March 17, 1762, to celebrate their heritage and bond with others of Irish descent. Despite its current status as a day to celebrate the anniversary of the saints birth by adding green food coloring to beer and heading the pub for a pint or two, St. Patricks Day is historically a religious holiday. Until the 1970s, pubs were mandated to close their doors every March 17 in observance. The famous tradition of dyeing the Chicago River green in celebration of St. Patricks Day was started accidentally in 1962, when city workers seeking pollution-control solutions poured green dye into the water to locate spots where sewage was being illegally discharged. More than 50 years later, 40 pounds of green vegetable dye are released into the river every March 17 to keep its green color going for several hours on St. Patricks Day. The shamrock -- which is known by the Celts as a seamroy and has become one of the most famous symbols of St. Patricks Day -- was considered to be a sacred plant in Ireland, because its growth marked the beginning of spring. It is commonly believed that St. Patrick used the shamrocks three leaves to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish people in his attempts to convert them to Christianity. Although the color green has long been associated with the modern St. Patricks Day, the color that was historically used to celebrate the holiday is a blue hue, which can often be seen on ancient Irish flags and the coat of arms of Ireland. Commonly dubbed St. Patricks Day blue, the colors association with the holiday and the saint himself slowly faded over time. By the 1750s, the color green had become a symbol of the saint and the celebration, due largely to the holidays association with the shamrock. Although many legends credit St. Patrick himself with banishing snakes from the country of Ireland, modern science indicates that the creepy crawlers were never native to the island in the first place. Because Ireland is surrounded by the icy waters of the northern Atlantic Ocean, it is unlikely that any kind of snake was ever able to migrate from Britain or other neighboring countries without succumbing to the cold. St. Patricks Day may be known as a holiday celebrated predominately by those in Ireland or by American immigrants of Irish descent to honor the accomplishments of St. Patrick and his entrance into heaven. However, the holiday is also widely celebrated in countries ranging from Japan, Australia and Argentina to Great Britain, Canada and South Korea.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 00:41:18 +0000
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