Why Do We Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

As many people know, today this holiday is associated with the color green, throwing parties or parades (when they aren’t cancelled), eating Irish food, and drinking beer with friends and family. However, not many know the history behind the reason why we celebrate this holiday. Let’s take a brief look at the background of St. Patrick’s Day, and some of the symbols and celebrations associated with it.

Saint Patrick was the patron saint of Ireland and its national apostle. Although he was born in Roman Britain, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland at the young age of 16. After later escaping, he returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to its people.

St. Patrick’s Day has been celebrated since around the ninth or tenth century in Ireland, however, the first St. Patrick’s day parade took place in America on March 17th, 1601, in what is now St. Augustine, Florida. Since then, enthusiasm for parades spread across the country in large cities such as New York and Boston, and only grew from there.

Nowadays, there are many other St. Patrick’s Day celebration traditions that have developed across America. One of these is Chicago’s annual dyeing of the Chicago River green, which started in 1962. In the U.S., people also often wear green clothing on the holiday. Lastly, one symbol of St. Patrick’s day is the Leprechaun, meaning “small-bodied fellow” in its original Irish name. Belief in Leprechauns stemmed from the Irish belief in fairies, tiny men and women known for their trickery, which they often used to protect their infamous treasure.

To learn more about the history of St. Patrick’s Day, click here.

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