In many cities and towns throughout the\nworld, March 17th is marked by crowded pubs, green beer and cleverly crafted\noutfits of head-to-toe green. St. Patrick’s Day is a time for the Irish spirit,\nand sometimes even accents, to come through, even among those without a twig of\nIrish heritage in their family tree. So, why do we all don our best green\nget-ups for this occasion? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Historians believe that Patrick was likely born in a small British village<\/a>,\nwhere he lived until about 14 or 16 years old, with his moderately wealthy\nfamily. At this point, reality could rival any myth, as it is said young\nPatrick was kidnaped by Irish raiders, who brought him back to Ireland as a\nslave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n St. Patrick would later reflect that he\nbelieved it was this experience that brought him closer to God. He spent six\nyears as a slave, herding sheep for his captors, until one day he said he heard\nthe voice of God. He did as he heard, and walked hundreds of miles to the\ncoast, where he found a ship that returned him to his home and family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Patrick went back to Ireland eventually and traveled the nation for decades, converting chieftains and communities from the druid religion to Christianity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most people already know that St. Patrick\nis the foremost patron saint of Ireland<\/a>,\nbut what many do not know is that March 17th marks the day that St. Patrick\ndied, back in 461 AD. However, it wasn’t until sometime in the early 17th\ncentury that it was made official, and proclaimed a Christian feast day in\ncommemoration of the arrival of Christianity to Ireland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even more to the point about the importance of St. Patrick to the Irish heritage is the fact that church-led restrictions owing to Lent, which happens to fall dead-smack around March 17th every year, are lifted (including drinking alcohol!). <\/p>\n\n\n\n To this day, St. Patrick’s Day is a public\nholiday in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, the small island\nand the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat, as well as the Canadian\nprovinces of Newfoundland and Labrador. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The color green has been associated with, and remains a symbol of Ireland, to this day, but why? Here are some interesting facts about the traditions, myths and more that you may or may not have heard about. These fun facts keep St. Patrick’s Day a favorite among the Irish and non-Irish alike:<\/p>\n\n\n\n One old Irish myth says that wearing green\nwould make party-goers invisible to leprechauns and fairies (oh my!).\nTypically, these fictitious rapscallions were said to wander around a good\nparty, pinching whoever they came across. Wearing green allowed revelers to\nbecome invisible to the wee magic folk and enjoy the party without being\npinched by a pair of tiny fingers! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Interestingly, this is also the reason you\nmight find yourself pinched for forgoing green, even today! Avoid pinched\ncheeks and find yourself a white\nt shirt<\/a> and make your own DIY St. Patrick\u2019s Day shirt<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another important symbol for anyone\npartaking in the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations is the shamrock: ah \u2014 you guessed it \u2014 the green three-leafed\nsymbol of the Holy Trinity. A shamrock, or the original Gaelic version,\n\u201cseamrog\u201d means \u201clittle clover\u201d\u2014 a term that covers\nmost plants with three leaves from the genus Trifolium. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is different than it’s \u2014also green \u2014 but luckier four-leaf\ncousin, the four-leaf clover. It is said that St. Patrick used the indigenous\npiece of foliage to explain the concept of the divine trinity to those that he\nsought to convert. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A less religious interpretation of the\nsymbolism behind the three leaves is that they stand for love, faith and hope.\nThese days, you are more likely to enjoy a shamrock shake<\/a>, instead of a sermon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another myth associated with St. Patrick is\nthat he rid the country of snakes, a biblical symbol for evil. So, the story\ngoes, St. Patrick was fasting for 40 days atop a mountain, as one does. Upon\nhis descent, he happened upon a rumba of snakes \u2014 slithering hither and dither all over the rolling green foothills.\nHe was so irate at the audacity of these serpents that he drove them into the\nsea and banished them from the emerald shores of Ireland for all time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet another legend has St. Patrick pegged as a legendary orator for God’s word, or, at least legendary in his ability to talk for hours on end. This legend states that once, St. Patrick, who carried a wooden walking stick, preached for so long that his walking stick, which was resting nearby, grew roots and became a living tree again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 5) <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is nothing per\nse in the legend of St. Patrick that associates the color green with the saint.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though green is\noften associated with the Emerald Isle, the \u201cwearing of the green\u201d on March\n17th itself did not become a true tradition until the 19th century, when Irish\nimmigrants in New York popularized it. In fact, blue was the original color of\nSt. Patrick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite having to leave their homeland in\ndroves, mostly for reasons of food insecurity caused by the Great Famine<\/a> (from 1845-50) the Irish\nmaintained their national pride. They became known for wearing green and\ncarrying Irish flags as a way to show their heritage proudly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though the association between St. Patrick and the color green are, like most stories surrounding the mystical missionary, embellished just a wee bit (as is Irish tradition), the history between Ireland and the color green is long. Mostly built up around the Irish Catholic population, green has long been associated with the shores of the Emerald Isle, while the Irish Protestant populations have strong ties to the color orange. Both colors can be found on the Irish flag, separated only by a block of white, meant to represent peace between the two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Credits:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Article & Images contributed by : Brenda Kimble<\/p>\n\n\n\n Traditions, Myths & More In many cities and towns throughout the world, March 17th is marked by crowded pubs, green beer and cleverly crafted outfits of head-to-toe green. St. Patrick’s Day is a time for the Irish spirit, and sometimes even accents, to come through, even among those without a twig of Irish heritage in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":992,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-1009","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"entry"},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P8I0tn-gh","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kiddyhouse.com\/celebrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kiddyhouse.com\/celebrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kiddyhouse.com\/celebrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kiddyhouse.com\/celebrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kiddyhouse.com\/celebrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1009"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/kiddyhouse.com\/celebrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1057,"href":"https:\/\/kiddyhouse.com\/celebrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1009\/revisions\/1057"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kiddyhouse.com\/celebrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kiddyhouse.com\/celebrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What\nWe Know or Infer About St. Patrick the Man<\/strong><\/p><\/font><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nModern\nTraditions<\/font><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Fun\nFacts<\/font><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n1)<\/em><\/font><\/strong> Have you ever been pinched\nfor not wearing green on March 17th? <\/strong><\/em><\/font><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2)<\/em><\/font><\/strong> Have you ever wondered why\nthe Shamrock is used as a symbol of St. Patrick’s day over a four-leaf clover,\nand what’s the difference?<\/strong><\/em><\/font><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3)<\/em><\/font><\/strong> Have you heard the one about\nthe snakes?<\/strong><\/em><\/font><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4)There was also that time St. Patrick spoke for so long, that he grew his own foliage!<\/em><\/font><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nWearing Green<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/h3><\/font>\n\n\n\n
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