Facts About
St Patricks Day History

Colorful St Patricks Day history began in late 4th century Britain, where a teenaged Patrick was kidnapped from his family's estate and taken to Celtic Ireland.

St. Patrick

One Irish legend is depicted in this stained glass window. St. Patrick is shown with his shillelagh, driving the snakes out of Ireland.

In truth, there have never been snakes in Ireland. This is due to its geology: Ireland's last glacier melted about 15,000 years ago. Since then, the country has been surrounded by the icy waters of the north Atlantic. Cold-blooded reptiles simply cannot get to Ireland.

St. Patrick's banishment of snakes also serves as a metaphor for the triumph of Christianity over pagan beliefs. And the fond tale endures as part of St Patricks Day history.

There, he was forced to work as a shepherd. He spent long days away from the companionship of men, walking the green, windswept hills of northern Ireland with his flock.

During his six lonely years of imprisonment, a deep religious fervor grew in Patrick. He felt an overwhelming need to escape pagan Ireland to seek his Christian roots.

With great hardship he managed to escape and, over a number of months, make his way back to Britain. Once home, he immersed himself in religious studies for more than a decade. He was eventually ordained as a priest.

Then Patrick had a religious revelation. An angel appeared to him in a dream and revealed his destiny: he was to return to Ireland and spend the rest of his days as a Christian missionary.

There is little proof of St. Patrick's true life adventures in Ireland. Many of the legends are good-natured boasting which has given way to much exaggeration over the years.

Celtic Cross

An Irish legend gives St. Patrick credit for combining a Christian cross with a pagan symbol. Whether or not Patrick designed the symbol is not provable, but the result illustrates the merging of two faiths.

The circle which interesects the cross can represent either the Celtic sun or moon, both revered as powerful forces of nature.

Shamrocks

This national symbol of Ireland has a very long St Patricks Day history. Clover was sacred to ancient Celtic tribes as visible proof of the power of 3, to which they attached great importance. All things large and small, both mundane and profound, can be shown to have three main parts. For example:

Three things which diminish: lies, darkness, death
Three things which expand: truth, lightness, life
Three things to aspire to: truth, honor, duty

St. Patrick used the shamrock to symbolize the Christian doctrine of the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Shamrocks are symbols of good luck. The word comes from the Irish for clover: seamarog.

Leprechauns

Leprechauns belong to the class of supernational beings known as fairies and elves. They inhabit an enchanting niche in the fanciful world of St Patricks Day history.

Leprechauns are said to be greedy and hoard wealth. One of their customs is to hide pots of gold in secret places. To the annoyance of leprechauns, these hiding places are occasionally revealed to humans by the appearance of rainbows.

Luck o' The Irish....

St. Patricks Day Leprechaun and Horseshoe

...can refer to both good and back luck. Throughout most of Irish history, their luck has been abominably bad:

Invaded by Vikings
800-year war with England
Population loss due to war - 66%
Population loss due to famine and emigration - 25%

The connotation we have of good Irish luck began in America during the gold and silver rush years of the 1850s - 1880s.

The most successful were four Irish miners who discovered the Comstock Lode in Virginia City, Nevada. They became known as the "Silver Kings."

This time, the luck o' the Irish was very good, indeed!

No matter whether we have a drop of Irish blood in our veins, once each year we hope for a little luck of our own by wearin o' the green and wishing our fellows well