Origin of St. Patrick's Day

Dakota Polk, dp220@uakron.edu

Ke’Ila Frazier, kkf20@uakron.edu

We all know the holiday St. Patrick's Day, where everyone wears green and elementary students go on hunts in the classrooms for pots of gold supposedly left by a leprechaun. But do you know the origin of the holiday? Saint Patrick was a Christian missionary who helped spread Christianity throughout Ireland. But something that many people may not know about Saint Patrick is that he isn't actually Irish. He was originally born in Roman Britain, which would be modern-day England.

 When he was 16, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and held captive as a slave. While in captivity, he worked as a shepherd, and during that time, he became very religious. Eventually, he was able to escape and return home. Saint Patrick later said that God gave him a vision calling him to go back to Ireland and spread Christianity. He became a priest and returned to Ireland as a missionary. Through the course of his life, he traveled spreading Christianity and converted many people.  

According to PBS, St. Patrick’s Day is on the death date of Saint Patrick, which is March 17th, when civilians unite and celebrate Irish heritage. Later, it also became known as a day where people celebrated the resilience that their Irish ancestors had in response to the discrimination that they faced. However, the holiday has become popularized, and isn’t just celebrated by the Irish. People from all over the world, specifically the United States, join together to celebrate and throw parades.