Saint Patrick's day is one of our nation's favorite
holidays. People gather in the streets heralding Irish pride, regardless of how
Irish they may or may not be. But very few know why we celebrate this day or
about the man himself, Saint Patrick. We now present some facts about him.
- The person who was to become Saint Patrick, the patron saint of
Ireland, was born in Wales about AD 385.
- His given name was Maewyn.
- At the age of 16 he was sold into slavery by a group of Irish
marauders that raided his village.
- During his training he became aware that his calling was to
convert the pagans to Christianity.
- He traveled throughout Ireland, establishing monasteries across
the country.
- He also set up schools and churches which would aid him in his
conversion of the Irish country to Christianity.
- One traditional icon of the day is the shamrock. This stems
from a more bona fide Irish tale that tells how Patrick used the three-leafed
shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons to represent how the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of
the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his
feast day.
- The Saint Patrick's Day custom came to America in 1737. That was
the first year Saint Patrick's Day was publicly celebrated in this country, in
Boston.
All information obtained from Customs and History
of Saint Patrick's Day.
Responses:
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Name: Greg
Comments:
Great, another holiday for someone that doesn't believe in freedom of religion.
Name: John
Comments:
Cool... So why do we drink so much on this day then, and where did does the Leprechan come into play?
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