How did St Patrick's Day originate?

Origins of St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's day was first celebrated in this country in Boston in 1737. It's not surprising that it reached our shores as there are more Americans of Irish origin than there are Irish in Ireland.

The man himself, St. Patrick, was born in Wales in 385 AD. His given name was Maewyn. He had an eventful life and was good at converting pagans to Christianity. He was thrown into prison several times and escaped each time from the Celtic druids to continue establishing churches and monasteries all over Ireland, a mission that took him over 30 years.

St. Patrick died on March 17th, 461 AD and that day has been celebrated as St. Patrick's Day ever since.

When we think of this holiday, we think of green and yet the color of St. Patrick is actually blue. Green came into the picture and started to be associated with this celebration in the 19th century. The color green in Irish legends was the color worn by fairies and immortals and the color worn by people to encourage crops to grow. Even today, when we think of green, we think of springtime, new life and new growth.

Here is more information:

• The original St. Patrick celebrations began as a religious festival. Much of what is known about St.Patrick was written in his own hand and titled 'The Confession of St.Patrick': 1. I, Patrick, a sinner, a most simple countryman, the least of all the faithful and most contemptible to many, had for father the deacon Calpurnius, son of the late Potitus, a priest, of the settlement [vicus] of Bannavem Taburniae; he had a small villa nearby where I was taken captive. I was at that time about sixteen years of age. St. Patrick was born between 370 and 390 C. E. in the Roman Empire in Britain. His given name Magonus Sucatus and was changed to Patricius either after his baptism or after he became a priest. Colonial New York City hosted the first official St. Patrick's Day parade in 1762, when Irish immigrants in the British colonial army marched down city streets.

About St. Patrick's:

Saint Patrick is believed to have been born in the late fourth century, and is often confused with Palladius, a bishop who was sent by Pope Celestine in 431 to be the first bishop to the Irish believers in Christ.

Saint Patrick was the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland who is credited with bringing christianity to Ireland. Most of what is known about him comes from his two works, the Confessio, a spiritual autobiography, and his Epistola, a denunciation of British mistreatment of Irish christians. Saint Patrick described himself as a "most humble-minded man, pouring forth a continuous paean of thanks to his Maker for having chosen him as the instrument whereby multitudes who had worshipped idols and unclean things had become the people of God."

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