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St. Patricks Day
St. Patricks Day History and Traditions
St. Patrick's Day is March 17th. Read about the history of St. Patricks Day, Irish traditions, symbols, parades and celebrations.
May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow and may trouble avoid you wherever you go!
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The History of St. Patrick's Day
The 17th of March is celebrated all over the world in the honor of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.
The festive holiday has everyone wearing green (so they don't get pinched) and chatting of four leaf clovers, shamrocks, lucky leprechauns, and kissing the blarney stone.
Saint Patrick was born near the end of the fourth century. His real name is believed to have been Maewyn Succat. When he was 16 years old, he was captured by pirates and forced to work as a slave for six years. He finally escaped from slavery and went to northern coast of Gaul, where he became a priest. His name name was changed to Patrick when was studying in the monastery under St. Germain, bishop of Auxerre for twelve years.
Later he returned to Ireland where he worked as a missionary. He had a winning personality that helped him convert people to Christianity. He used the shamrock, a three-leafed clover to help explain the concept of the Trinity (father, son, holy spirit). He was ordained as a Bishop of Ireland in 431. He preached the word of Christ extensively but established a number of churches, schools and colleges in the country. His profound influence on Ireland elevated him to the position of a national hero and the hero of various legends. One such legend has it that Saint Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland.
Patrick's mission in Ireland lasted for thirty years. He then retired to County Down and died on March 17 in 461 AD. That day has been commemorated as St. Patrick's Day ever since. Ireland - the land of luck, leprechauns and legends has declared the day of its patron saint a national holiday. The first year St. Patrick's Day was celebrated in the United States was 1737 in Boston, Massachusetts. On this day "everybody is Irish!" Over 100 U.S. cities now hold Saint Patrick's Day parades.
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St. Patrick's Day Traditions & Symbols
Irish Customs for St. Patricks Day:
There are numerous customs associated with St. Patricks Day celebrated by the people of Irish descent in different parts of the world.
Shamrock leaves are worn on the shoulder on this day to remember St. Patrick.
People exchange Irish - Gaelic greetings.
Traditional Irish Friendship Gift - Claddaugh Rings
Men follow a ritual called the 'Drowning of the Shamrock'. A Shamrock leaf is dipped in whiskey and thrown over the left shoulder.
Girls wear green ribbons and the boys wear a harp badge. The harp is an Irish symbol, found in ancient Irish carvings, Irish coins, flags and is also used for traditional decorations on St. Patrick's Day .
People attend mass in the morning and St. Patrick Day parades are held in the afternoon.
Shillelaghs are displayed and used for decorations.
The Wearing of Green
Did you ever wonder why we should wear green on St. Patricks Day? Well...you'll be pinched if you don't wear at least something green! Irish school children started this tradition. Green is the color of Ireland, the color of spring and the color of shamrocks.
The luck o' the Irish
Want to be lucky this St. Patrick's Day? Here's a few options to consider:
1. Find a four-leaf clover.
2. Wear green to avoid geting pinched.
3. Kiss the blarney stone.
4. Catch a Leprechaun if you can.
5. Have a green beer. 
Blarney Castle and Kissing of the Blarney Stone
Blarney Castle is located in County Cork, Ireland. The Blarney stone is located in the southern tower wall. In order to kiss the stone one has to lie on their back and bend backward (and downward), holding iron bars for support. It is beleived that the Blarney stone has magical properties. Any one who kisses the Blarney Stone is supposed to receive the gift the ability to speak convincingly.
Leprechauns
 A small gnome-like man with magical powers is the Irish counterpart of the fairy. He is beleived to possess a hidden pot of gold. Leprechauns are about 2 feet tall and dress like a shoemaker with a cocked hat and leather apron. A Leprechaun's is described as aloof and unfriendly. They live alone and pass the time by making shoes. If you listen closely for the sound of their hammer you might be able to capture one. If you catch a Leprechaun you can force him to reveal where he has hidden his pot of gold. Be careful! If you take your eyes off him he will vanish and so will your chances of finding his treasure.
Shamrocks
 St. Patrick used the shamrock leaf to symbolize the Trinity during his mission to convert the Irish people to Christianity. Carved symbols of the shamrock leaf have been found on medieval Irish tombs and also on old copper coins. It is an ancient Irish belief that the shamrock leaf has magical properties. Today many people wear a shamrock to commemorate Saint Patrick's Day.
The Shillelagh
Shillelagh was the name of an oak forest in Ireland's County Wicklow. A club made from an oak was called a 'Shillelagh'. The Shillelagh served as walking sticks and were also used for sport or weapons for fighting.
Irish blessing:
May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow and may trouble avoid you wherever you go!
More About St. Paddy's Day:
St. Patrick's true given name was Maewyn Succat, and he was not Irish by birth. He was born in Britain.
The color originally associated with St. Patrick was blue; green became associated during the 19th century.
St. Patty's did not become a national holiday in Ireland until 1903, and the first parade wasn't held in Dublin until 1931.
The first St. Patrick's Day parade in the U.S. was held in Boston, MA in 1737. Presently, New York has the largest parade.
Every St. Patrick's Day, the Chicago River is dyed green with a special dye that only lasts a few hours.
There are four places in the U.S. named Shamrock. They are Mount Gay-Shamrock, W.V; Shamrock, TX; Shamrock Lakes, IA; and Shamrock, OK.
One estimate suggests that there are about 10,000 regular three-leaf clovers for every lucky four-leaf clover.
Legend says that each leaf of the lucky four-leaf clover means something: the first is for hope, the second is for faith, the third for love and the fourth for luck.
In other lore, St. Patrick used the three leaves of a shamrock to explain the holy trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
On any given day, 5.5 million pints of Guinness, the famous Irish stout brand, are consumed around the world. But on St. Patrick's Day, that number more than doubles to 13 million pints.
Popular Irish toasts on St. Patrick's Day include, "may the roof above us never fall in, and may we friends beneath it never fall out."
Dating back to Old Europe, the legend of the pot of gold is claimed enthusiastically by the Irish. The lore is that fairies put the gold there and then the leprechauns guard it. This folklore has become part of the symbolism of St. Patrick's Day, celebrating the hope and luck it takes to find that elusive pot of gold.
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