St.Patrick’s Day

Growing up St.Patrick’s Day wasn’t really a big deal in my family. My grandparents came from Italian, French, and Polish descent.

So it wasn’t a holiday we did very much for besides eating some corn beef, cabbage, and soda bread.

But I remember doing some fun activities in a school and occasionally we went to a parade.

I didn’t know much about my paternal side until I took an ancestry DNA test and learned I’m a whole 6% Irish! So maybe I should pay a little more attention to the Irish Heritage holiday.

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Learning About St.Patrick’s Day

I really fundamentally knew nothing factual about the day and it’s celebrations.

So what do we do in this modern age of technology when we want to learn something? Go to google search of course!

The following information I share is simply about a broad view of results I found online.

I tried to compile little pieces of information to share for anyone else who wants to learn about the holiday.

Write in the comments below any of your St.Patrick’s Day knowledge, I would love to hear it!

Wearing Green

So naturally the one obvious thing I knew each year is that people wear green to celebrate. I figured that’d be a good place to start.

Upon looking up the basic phrase “why do we wear green on St.Patrick’s Day?” I’ll be honest, the results are confusing!

There were so many articles on various blog websites and every answer to this question was different. The general top answers for why we wear green are because:

• Ireland was nicknamed the Emerald Isle
• Irish immigrants came to America after the Great Famine looking for job opportunities, and would wear green and carry Irish flags
• To be invisible so leprechauns don’t jump out and pinch you

I find that last one bizarre but then again, at Easter I believed a bunny rabbit hid colorful egg, so I have no right to judge! LOL

But it still left me wondering about the person this holiday is named after.

St.Patrick Himself

So who is St. Patrick and Why do we celebrate him?

From what I found, a short summary is-

Patrick was born in Britain and at the age of 16 he was held captive in slavery in Ireland. During time in captivity he grew his faith and converted to Christianity.

After several years he fled and escaped to a ship port to go home.

He later decided to return to Ireland as a missionary to minister Christianity.

Another note I came across multiple times was that St.Patrick was not officially declared a Saint, due to the time period in which he lived.

The Shamrock

This was my first time learning the connection between the shamrock and St.Patrick’s Day.

There is a legend that St.Patrick used the 3 leaf clover, referred to as a shamrock, to explain the Christian Holy Trinity. The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.

His death is believed to be March 17th leading to the date of honoring St.Patrick’s Day.

So the holiday is a mix of heritage pride and religious association.

I decided to turn to FindAGrave.com to see if there was a virtual memorial created.

I located this page in memory of St.Patrick (b.385-d.461) here: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/3115/patrick

Viewers and volunteers can leave virtual flowers and notes.

|Related Article: Cemeteries & Find A Grave Help Family Research

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Conclusion

While this was just a brief overview of the St.Patrick’s day, I was surprised by the little random pieces of information I learned.

Most holidays I just celebrate the way I always have and never really think about it.

But this one (especially the leprechaun aspect) got me thinking about other holidays. And how the way in which we recognize the holiday is sometimes a bit off course, if you will, from what the day is actually about and how it began.

I hope you enjoyed this little article. It was a little different than my other posts.

Please share any other fun facts in the comments below! I would love to hear them!