Saint Patrick's Day

Lore & Background

Saint Patrick was a 5th-century Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Much of what is known about him comes from the Declaration, which was allegedly written by Patrick himself. He was born in Roman Britain in the fourth century, into a wealthy Romano-British family; his father was a Christian deacon and his grandfather a priest. According to the Declaration, at age sixteen he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Gaelic Ireland, where he spent six years working as a shepherd and during that time found God. The Declaration says God told Patrick to flee to the coast, where a ship would be waiting to take him home. After making his way home, Patrick went on to become a priest. According to tradition, Patrick returned to Ireland to convert the pagan Irish to Christianity. The Declaration says he spent many years evangelising in the northern half of Ireland and converted thousands. Tradition holds that he died on 17 March and was buried at Downpatrick. Over the following centuries, many legends grew up around Patrick and he became Ireland's foremost saint. The story that Saint Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity first appears in writing in 1726, though it may be older.

Reader's Guide

Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (for provincial government employees), and the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat. It is widely celebrated in places with large Irish diaspora communities, such as Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, and is celebrated in more countries than any other national festival. Modern celebrations have been greatly influenced by those of the Irish diaspora, particularly those that developed in North America. Until the late 20th century, Saint Patrick's Day was often a bigger celebration among the diaspora than it was in Ireland. Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, céilithe (Irish traditional music sessions), and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks. Christians who belong to liturgical denominations also attend church services. Saint Patrick's Day parades began in North America in the 18th century but did not spread to Ireland until the 20th century. Since 2010, famous landmarks have been lit up in green on Saint Patrick's Day as part of Tourism Ireland's 'Global Greening Initiative' or 'Going Green for St Patrick's Day'. The Sydney Opera House and the Sky Tower in Auckland were the first landmarks to participate, and since then over 300 landmarks in fifty countries across the globe have gone green for Saint Patrick's Day. The holiday has faced criticism for becoming too commercialised, for connections to drinking culture, and for fostering negative stereotypes of the Irish people.

Did You Know?

• Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Christian feast day in the early 17th century, due to the influence of Waterford-born Franciscan scholar Luke Wadding.
• The first association of the colour green with Ireland comes from an 11th-century legend in the Lebor Gabála Érenn, about Goídel Glas being bitten by a snake and saved by Moses.
• Saint Patrick's Day parades began in North America in the 18th century but did not spread to Ireland until the 20th century.
• Since 2010, over 300 landmarks in fifty countries have gone green for Saint Patrick's Day as part of Tourism Ireland's 'Global Greening Initiative'.
• The wearing of the 'St Patrick's Day Cross'—a Celtic Christian cross made of paper covered with silk or ribbon—was a popular custom in Ireland until the early 20th century.