Happy St. Patrick's Day! I hope your day has been full of green and Irishness (I don't think that's a word, but oh well).
St. Patrick's Day is yet another example of a holiday with Christian roots that has been turned on its head and is now celebrated by millions of people who have no idea what they are actually celebrating.
But you should know what you are celebrating. So who exactly was St. Patrick, and why do we celebrate him?
St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. He was born in Roman Britain, but he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at age sixteen. He worked as a slave in Ireland for six years; during this time he became a devout Christian.
He claims that a voice spoke in a dream to him, telling him that it was time to leave Ireland. He managed to escape and made his way back to Britain to be reunited with his family.
And then he had another dream in which God called him to go back to Ireland and witness to the people there. So he returned and began the process of bringing Christianity to the Irish, who at the time practiced a religion full of Druids and nature spirits. Many legends of him exist today, one of which is that he used the three-leaf clover to illustrate the trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
So there you have it: who St. Patrick is and why we celebrate him on March 17.
What do you think? Did you know this before? Have you learned some new things? Are there other things you can add to this that I left out?
Thanks for posting this! It was very interesting and helpful. :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it!
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