"An Irish Celebration"
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Ah, St. Patrick’s Day, the day to celebrate all things Irish.
While it’’s a big day in Ireland, people of Irish ancestry the world over celebrate their patron saint’s holiday.

Patrick himself, however, wasn’t born in Ireland. Originally named Maewyn, St.Patrick was born in Wales towards the end of the fourth century AD. He might have spent his entire life in Wales, but when he was sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and sold into slavery in Ireland. After six years of slavery, Maewyn escaped and made his way to Gaul where he entered a monastery run by St. Germain, the bishop of Auxerre. There he took the name Patrick. He studied there for twelve years, before deciding to return to Ireland to convert his former captors to Christianity.

He almost didn’t make it. Unsure that he had sufficient academic training, his superiors sent St. Palladius instead. Two years later, St. Palladius moved to Scotland, and St. Patrick was assigned Ireland. St. Patrick stayed in Ireland until his death thirty years later. A remarkably effective missionary, he established numerous monasteries and schools during this time. He was imprisoned several times by Irish Druids, who were understandably upset by his success. St. Patrick died on March 17, 461 AD, which is, of course, now commemorated as St. Patrick’s Day.

Much Irish folklore surrounds St. Patrick’s Day. Not much of it is actually substantiated. Some of this lore includes the belief that Patrick raised people from the dead. He also is said to have given a sermon from a hilltop that drove all the snakes from Ireland. Of course, no snakes were ever native to Ireland, and some people think this is a metaphor for the conversion of the pagans. Though originally a Catholic holy day, St. Patrick’s Day has evolved into more of a secular holiday.

None So Irish - There’s a saying in North America that no one is as Irish as an Irishman overseas. Although the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day is a steadfast tradition in Ireland, it is taken even more seriously abroad. The immigration in the mid 1800s during the Irish potato famine (1845-1850) brought many Irish families to the port cities of Boston, New York, Montreal and Quebec. Although, in contrast, there were already many Irish immigrants residing in North America from educated and wealthy families in Northern Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day in these east coast cities is accompanied by parades, green beer and all the fanfare of a major holiday. On St. Paddy’s Day, everyone is welcome to be Irish!