St. Patrick’s Day began in Ireland but has become an American holiday associated with traditions of which people don’t know the origins. Students identify with Emily Thompson, a senior in graphic design from Arizona, who said she doesn’t know why it is really celebrated, though she does like to party on the holiday. “It was always my favorite holiday because it was a random holiday in the middle of March. Who doesn’t like a holiday in the middle of a no holiday season? I also love that it is a green dominated day. From the green utensils, to the green milk and meal, my mom made it a fun day.” History.com and Christian Science Monitor shared their wisdom on the peculiar and interesting fun facts of this holiday. St. Patrick was not even Irish, but English. He was born in the 5th Century to a family of aristocrats, and his parents were Roman citizens, says History.com. At the age of 16, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and enslaved. After six year of captivity working as a sheepherder, he returned back to England. While in captivity, he converted to Christianity. When he landed on the shores of England, he decided to go back to Ireland and work as a Christian missionary.St. Patrick’s color is actually blue, not green. St. Patrick was usually illustrated wearing blue, until the 17th Century when it changed because of Ireland’s association with green landscape. In this period, Ireland was nicknamed the “Emerald Isle,” says Christian Science Monitor.St. Patrick died on March 17, 461. He was forgotten until people started spreading myths about him. His popularity grew so much he was named a patron saint of Ireland. There was a legend he drove all the snakes from Ireland. This was not in a literal sense, since there is no history or scientific possibility of snakes being on the island. It was more of a symbol of St. Patrick cleansing the island of paganism, says History.com. Pinching people who are not wearing green is meant to remind a person leprechauns have the ability to pinch them, says Christian Science Monitor. A biology junior from Texas, Trinity Waddell said, “I’m not that Irish, but my favorite part of the day is the excuse to pinch people.”St. Patrick used the three leaves of the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. In the 18th Century, Christians in Ireland started to wear them as a way to show their pride. That tradition evolved into wearing green, says History.com.The tradition of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day actually started in the United States because the potato famine drove thousands of Irish people to come to America. The first St. Patrick’s Day parade was in 1762 in New York, says History.com.On St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago, 40 pounds of green dye are used to turn the Chicago River green. Adam Ahmu, a junior from Chicago studying information technology, said “Visually, it is crazy. It is such a fun day since thousands of people come together and see a river turn green. What is there not to like?”There are 34.7 million Irish-Americans living in the United States. That’s more than seven times the population of Ireland, says History.com.Uploaded March 19, 2015
Writer: Mackenzie McLeod
