St. Patrick’s day is a surprisingly widely celebrated holiday here in America, and in New York more than most other cities with its strong Irish roots from immigration in the 1800s. With the St. Patrick’s day parade in New York City on Saturday the 16th and the actual Holiday the following day on the 17th, celebrations were in full swing.
However, most people connect the Holiday with celebrating Irish Culture and heritage which are plentiful here in America, but the roots of this Holiday come from a different purpose.
The Holiday’s name comes from St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Surprisingly he was actually born in Britain in the fifth century, but was captured at the age of sixteen by Irish pirates and put into slavery. After six years enslaved as a herder in Ireland he escaped back to Britain where he became a priest.
Later he would be compelled by a vision to return to Ireland to convert the paigon population of the country to christianity. Arriving in Ireland he began to convert thousands to christianity and founded monasteries and churches all over the Island. The teaching he was most known for was using the shamrock, having three leaves, to represent the holy trinity. This is what gives the shamrock such a close connection to Irish culture and St. Patrick’s day.
The date of March 17th, on which the holiday is celebrated each year, is the supposed date of his death. This holiday was at first only a feast celebration within the catholic church’s calendar, but later turned into a full blow holiday within Ireland
How the parade became a central part of the Holiday actually spawned out of New York City and not Ireland Surprisingly. This came to be in 1762 when Irish soldiers serving within the British military stationed in New York marched through the street to celebrate their Irish Identity. We celebrate this march every year with annual parades throughout many cities including New York and Chicago.