Today 17th March will be celebrated as Saint Patrick’s Day all over the world. It is a cultural and religious celebration especially for the Irish. The day is also known as “Feast of Saint Patrick”. The day is named after foremost patron saint “Saint Patrick” of Ireland. It is a public holiday and it is declared as official Christian feast day in the early seventeenth century.
Catholic Church observes the day gorgeously.
This day mainly commemorates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. People
organize public parades and festivals on this day. People wear green attire
dresses named Shamrocks and eat delicious foods and drinks alcohol as the
holiday tradition. This day is celebrated in more countries than any other national
festival of the world.
Saint Patrick was a Romano British Christian
missionary in Ireland in the 5th century. He was also a bishop in
Ireland. Many histologists believe that he was born in Roman Britain in the 4th
century. His father was a deacon and he was kidnapped by Irish raiders. Then he
was taken as a slave in Gaelic Ireland. He works as a slave for six years and
then he “found God”. Then he fled from the coast. He came back to Ireland to covert ‘pagan’
Irish to Christianity. There is an allegory that he drove out the snakes out of
Ireland. Now no snakes are in Ireland.
Saint Patrick’s Day has been celebrated from the 20th
century among the Irish Diaspora especially in the North America. Parades on
this day began in the 18th century. Marching bands, the Military,
fire brigades and cultural organizations organizes parades on this day. Many of
the parades become to a carnival. People drink alcohol especially Irish
whiskey, beer, cider etc. to celebrate this day.