Why do we celebrate St.Patrick’s Day? And what exactly does it celebrate?

St. Patricks Day commemorates Saint Patrick, one of Ireland’s patron saints between 431 and 432 A.D. It also celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general.

Saint Patrick was born in Roman Britain. As a boy he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at sixteen. He later escaped and and returned to Ireland to convert them to Christianity, and he’s credited for bringing Christianity to the people of Ireland.

Irish people will celebrate this day by having public parades, festivals and Cèilidhe, Scottish or Irish social gatherings. It usually involves dancing and playing Gaelic folk music. They also wear lots of green and shamrocks.

You may be wondering why we celebrate it in America with shamrocks, the color green, and leprechauns.  Actually, there’s just a bit more to it than just those things.

A very long time ago Irish soldiers in the British Army, most of the time indentured servants, brought the holiday to America, where the first parade was documented in 1762. When Irish immigration grew in America in the 19th and 20th centuries, the holiday evolved into the celebration of Irish pride that we observe today, as Saint Patrick’s Day.

Most Americans celebrate in some way on St. Patrick’s Day, even if it’s only making sure to wear something green that day.  Starting in 2021, landmarks all across the world participate in Global Greening, in which many landmarks are lit up in green for the holiday, including the famous Sydney Opera House, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and in the United States, Niagra Falls.  Even here in Illinois, Chicago changes the color of its downtown river to green for the day.