St. Patrick’s day is a holiday that is commonly known for its alcohol drinking and wearing green, but there is a lot more to it than people think. There is a lot of history, a mythology and tradition that goes into this holiday. A lot more than just chugging a couple of green beers.
First off is the history behind St. Patrick’s day. St. Patrick’s day is an Irish holiday, but did you know that St. Patrick was not even Irish? That's right, St. Patrick was actually born in Roman controlled Britain, but was kidnapped by a group of Irish raiders. For 6 years he remained in captivity until eventually he escaped and converted to Christianity. (St. Patrick’s day) He became a missionary and decided to go back to Ireland to help there.
Now as we all know there are quite a few myths revolving around St Patrick’s day. Some of which are that St. Patrick drove all the snakes from Ireland, or that he used the shamrock to explain the trinity. These are actually metaphorical, or are close to correct but not exactly. First, the myth that Patrick drove all the snakes from Ireland. It might be good for you to know that there weren't any snakes in Ireland in the first place. It was really a metaphor for him driving out the pagans from Ireland. Next was that he used the shamrock to explain the trinity. Actually there were many three leaved plants he may have used like a three leaved clover. (St. Patrick’s day)
Finally we will talk about the modern traditions and beliefs. There are a lot of traditions, for example wearing green. Here I will talk about how these traditions came to be. First is the wearing green. Originally people would wear shamrocks on their clothes, but over time it morphed into just wearing green. Corned beef and cabbage have become very popular, but did you know that the reason why Irish Americans would eat corned beef and cabbage on st Patrick's is because it was cheaper. Yeah, the Irish Americans actually would eat Irish bacon on st Patrick’s day. Later they learned that it was less expensive to have corned beef instead, so they switched to that. (St. Patrick’s day, and St. Patrick’s Day 2011)
Hopefully you have learned something worthwhile from my article on st. Patrick's day, whether it was the history, the myths, or the traditions. Now you know that st. Patrick's day is much different than what it is made up to be. Anyway….