Did you know the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick, wasn’t Irish and other tidbits

“Top of the morning to ya” on this fine but chilly Saint Patrick’s Day.  Did you know the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick, wasn’t Irish; he was born in Roman Britain in the 4^th century.  His father was a church deacon and his grandfather was a priest in the Christian Church.  At the age of 16, Patrick was kidnapped and taken to Ireland were he served as a shepherd.  After six years, Patrick escaped and returned to Britain where he became a priest.  Eventually though, he returned to Ireland to convert the Celtic pagans population, who worshipped the sun and pagan figurines, to Christianity.

            The story goes that Saint Patrick used the three leafed shamrock (not a four leafed clover) as a symbol to explain the “holy trinity” to the pagans.  The green shamrock, the plush green of the island and the song “wearing of the green” celebrating Irish nationalism, all contributed to the green Irish tradition.  Although a popular and mysterious myth, Saint Patrick did not drive the snakes out of Ireland.  Sorry to disrupt your fantasy, but there are no snakes in Ireland, it’s too cold.  Perhaps, St. Patrick driving the snakes from the island may be symbolic of his work to convert the pagans.  

            As strange as is seems, St Patrick’s Day celebrates the death of Saint Patrick who died on March 17.  In 1903, St. Patrick’s Day became an official holiday in Ireland.  At first the day was celebrated as a religious holiday.  In 1931, the first St. Patrick’s Day parade in Ireland was held in Dublin.  The very first St. Patrick’s Day parade though was not held in Ireland.  It was held in New York City in 1762 before the Revolutionary War.  The parade was held to celebrate Irish immigrant’s role in American culture.

            Through the ages, of course, the religious significance of the holiday has declined and been replaced by, one may say, more festive occasions of food and beer, especially the famous Irish stout, Guinness.  But here, once again, the traditional food in America, of corn-beef-and-cabbage is not Irish.  The traditional Irish cuisine on St. Paddy’s day is boiled bacon, like a boiled ham.  The American tradition of corn-beef-and-cabbage came about from American immigrants who collected cheap beef brisket and cabbage to cook for a special meal.

            So today on St. Patrick’s Day, even though the holiday is fraught with misconceptions, you may rest assured that millions of people are celebrating in Argentina, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, Malaysia, Montserrat, Russia, South Korea, Switzerland and the United States.  And among all the millions who will watch a St. Paddy’s Day parades all over the world, the shortest is in  Drepsey, Cork, Ireland being 100 yards, between two neighbor bars.