What is St. Patricks Day?

Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick, is a religious and cultural holiday held on March 17th, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. He is Christianity’s most widely known figures. But for all of his prevalence in culture—namely the holiday held on the day of his death that bears his name—his life remains somewhat of a mystery. 

What is a patron saint?

A patron saint is a saint who, in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy, or Oriental Orthodoxy, is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person.

​This holiday is in honour of Saint Patrick, who has become a legend in Irish folklore. According to one tale about Saint Patrick, he once climbed up to the top of a mountain to pray to God for forty days. When he came back down, a large number of snakes had gathered at the base of the mountain. He quickly drove them into the sea. In fact, he drove out all snakes from the island forever! To this day, there are no wild snakes in Ireland.

​Saint Patrick drives out the snakes from Ireland

Shamrocks are an essential part of Saint Patrick’s Day. But why? Well, there is a legend that says Saint Patrick used the shamrock. In the legend about Saint Patrick, he explained that the three parts were like the three leaves of the shamrock plant; even though there are three leaves, they make only one. In the same way, he said, the three parts of God make up one being. This is why the shamrock is an essential symbol in Ireland.

The shamrock

Four-leaf clovers “are real. They are rare”.

That doesn’t mean they can’t be found. People have to keep their eyes open and “get good at noticing patterns and breaks in the patterns, and they just start jumping out at you,” he says.

The shamrock

The leprechaun

Leprechauns don’t actually have anything to do with the legends of Saint Patrick, but they are an important part of Irish folklore, so, they have become Saint Patrick’s Day symbols as well. Leprechauns are small fairies in Irish myths and legends, but they aren’t beautiful like other fairies. They wear green suits and look like little old men. They are mischievous and like to play practical jokes on people. When they aren’t playing tricks on people, they make and fix shoes. They also hide their pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Legend says that if a person captures a leprechaun, the leprechaun has to grant them three wishes. Sometimes in myths, people tried to steal leprechauns’ gold, too!