Why do We Celebrate St Patricks

Why Do We Celebrate St. Patrick's Day?

St. Patrick’s Day has been celebrated for about 1,000 years by Irish and their descendants. But if you are not Irish, you might wonder, “Why do we celebrate St Patrick’s Day?”.

Who was St. Patrick?

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and its national apostle; however, he was not Irish! He was born in Britain, and, at 16 years of age, he was captured by Irish raiders and held in Ireland.

During captivity we sought solace in faith and Christianity. He later escaped and returned to Britain, studied until his ordination as a priest, and returned to Ireland to spread Christianity. He taught Christianity without disrupting Irish Pagan tradition, but by complementing them. A well-known legend is how he explained the holy trinity using a Irish clover, or shamrock. As such, he was very loved by their people and proclaimed a saint by the people, but not by the Catholic church.

Why do we Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

We celebrate St Patrick’s Day on the day of his death on March 17. During the celebration people feasted on meat and drink away. Irish immigrants brought their celebration to the western hemisphere but were met with some difficulties since locals associated them with booze and party-hard stereotypes (what’s new?).  
However, the Irish were a strong and numerous population and they began to realize it…..the politicians noted this too. Politicians used St. Patrick’s Day parades and festivities to bond with the Irish people and as such, this day began to become more and more engrained in mainstream society. And for good measure!!! People drink and celebrate with friends and family in a show of multicultural goodness.
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Hi Alexius Quinn

Alexius Quinn

Hi Alexius Quinn

Alexius Quinn

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