Happy St. Patrick’s Day – enjoy the Green!

For Saint Patrick’s Day this year, there are many ways to get in the spirit of being Green. As you celebrate with green beer and corned beef and cabbage, here is a bit of a history behind St. Patrick’s Day.

Patrick’s birth name was actually Maewyn and he was born in Roman Britain. However, he was kidnapped into slavery and brought to Ireland.

He escaped to a monastery in Gaul (France) and converted to Christianity. He then went back to Ireland in 432 as a missionary. While Christianity had already taken hold in the country, tradition has it that Patrick confronted the Druids at Tara and abolished their pagan rites, making Christianity more widespread.

Patrick became a bishop and after his death was named Ireland’s patron saint. However celebrations in Ireland were understated compared to modern day. When the Irish emigrated to the U.S., they created the bigger celebrations and parades that we know and love to enjoy today.

Eighteenth century Irish soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War held the first St. Patrick Day parades. And ultimately, these celebrations became a way for the Irish to connect with their roots after they moved to America.