Today is not just any Friday, today is a date of historical significance at least to some. So for that reason I have decided to post about what the history of this day real signifies. For those that don’t know today is St. Patrick’s Day.

St. Patrick’s Day is a day of celebration for many people of Irish decent and for those who are not of Irish decent. It is a day that we celebrate St. Patrick. But, the question is who really knows what the history is behind this date or St. Patrick himself. Well that is what I am here for, I am going to give a lesson on the history of this date and the man for which it is named.

To start Patrick was born in Britain during the time of the Roman Empire during the 5^th century. Patrick’s family were devote Christians, but, as a child Patrick had no interest in religion. When Patrick was sixteen he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken back to Ireland. He was held captive for 6 years. During this time he started to believe in God and started praying to him.

During one of his prayers he heard the voice of God telling him to leave Ireland had go back to Britain. After returning to the island of Britain he continued his education in the Christian religion and later became an ordained priest. All the time his mind was still with the people he had meet and left behind in Ireland. One night in a dream and angel came to him telling him to go back to Ireland as a missionary.

When Patrick now a priest returned to the Irish Isle he traveled extensively spreading the Christian religion in an attempt to banish the pagan religion that currently was on the island. One device he used was a three leaf cover to explain religion (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost). He continued to preach the good word until the day he died on March 17^th 461 AD.

Since that time he has been credited with being the patron saint of Ireland. Even though he was a real man there are a large number of myths surrounding him. The biggest of these myths is that he chased the snakes from Ireland. However, this is false since Ireland does not now or ever had snakes due to the cold waters surrounding the island. It is believed that the snakes is actually a reference to him chasing paganism out of Ireland.

Since his death his legend has spread throughout the world. This has led to a number of celebrations and traditions. One such tradition is wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day. Originally this started by the people of Ireland wearing a three leaf clover in honor of St. Patrick. This later became the tradition we all know of wearing green.

Another tradition and celebration that is celebrated on or around St. Patrick’s Day is parades. This was actually started here in America around the 1840’s when Irish immigrants fled to the U.S. in the wake of the potato famine. However, there is records that indicate that the first St. Patrick’s Day parade in NYC was in 1761 when Irish soldiers serving in the British army marched to a tavern. The NYC St. Patrick’s Day parade is the largest of such parades in the world.

Now that you know a little more about St. Patrick go forth and enjoy the evening. I guess it should be more like enjoy the weekend, because we all know that most people aren’t going to stop parting until Sunday night. So in the staying in the spirit of the day “Erin go Braugh”

I hope you all enjoyed this quick lesson on the historical significance of St. Patrick’s Day. If you enjoyed this quick historical piece please give it a like to let me know. Also if you have any thoughts, comments, or suggestions for future entries please feel free to leave it in the comments.

Check back next Friday at 1500 or 3 PM for part two of “Basement Man” an original short story.