Luck Of The Irish: A Brief History Of St. Patrick's Day

The man behind St. Patricks Day was Patrick, a Roman Britain born in A.D. 385. At 16 Patrick was kidnapped by Irish raiders and enslaved in Ireland for six years. After he escaped he returned to his family and later joined the Roman Catholic Church. He returned to Ireland as a Christian missionary, kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave and survived. He later returned to Ireland after entering the church. By the eighth century he became one of the patron saints of Ireland. For more on the Roman Catholic Church read religious magazines like Catholic Digest and Catholic Answer magazine.

In the early 17th century scholars influenced the Roman Catholic Church to create a feast day to celebrate St. Patrick, who died in 461 AD. Since then Ireland has celebrated St. Patrick every year on March 17. For many years the holiday was celebrated only as a religious holiday in Ireland but by 1903 was also declared a bank holiday.

The first St. Patricks Day parade actually didnt take place in Ireland but in New York City on March 17, 1762, fourteen years before the Declaration of Independence was signed. The parade consisted of Irish soldiers serving in the English military.

Today the New York City parade is the biggest and longest St. Patricks Day parade including more than 250,000 marchers. For more on New York Citys St. Patricks Day festivities schedule, read New York magazine, Conde Nast Traveler and Travel & Leisure magazine.

Other cities like Boston and Philadelphia also started St. Patricks Day parades in the mid to late 1700s. All cities continue these now world-famous parades.

In the last 20 plus years in the U.S. Irish expatriates, Irish Americans and even people with distant, little or no Irish connects participate in St. Patricks Day festivities. Popular slogans on buttons and t-shirts include Irish for a Day and Kiss Me Im Irish. Many people imbibe Irish beverages such as Irish beer, eat traditional Irish foods like corn beef and cabbage and wear green clothing to celebrate. For more on traditional Irish food, read food magazines like Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Food & Wine and Cooking Light.

Green is the color most associated with Ireland and St. Patricks Day in modern times. Anthropologists credit this trend with the saying the wearing of the green, meaning to wear a shamrock pinned onto ones clothing. St. Patrick used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Christian Holy Trinity. Throughout Irish history wearing the shamrock was considered a symbol of Irish nationalism or loyalty to the Roman Catholic faith.