By Sarah G
We have all heard at least one false tale or lie about holidays, the biggest one being, a man in a red suit comes to your house in a sled driven by flying reindeers to gift you presents underneath a pine tree. However, the stories about St. Patrick's day might not be as big and shocking but they sure will make you consider from whom you get your information.
The first tale that is simply not true is that St. Patrick was an Irish dude who chased snakes out of Ireland. Records are bit fuzzy, but it is believed that the real St. Patrick was born in England, Scotland, or Wales in 390 A.D. St. Patrick was actually kidnapped by raiders and forced to be a slave in Ireland for years; upon release, he went to Britain. Shortly after, he adventured back to Ireland, but he wanted to not to defeat snakes but to convert pagans to Christianity.
The second false tale is that St. Patrick’s day is traditionally an Irish holiday. The very first celebration of St. Patrick’s day was in America. Irish immigrants and descendants helped us form it into a holiday, and they wanted it to be a celebration of cultural solidarity and political force until we decided to get together and make it into the green bomb that it is today.
The third and definitely the most important tale is that green is the color of St. Patrick. Today you can tell that in America and around the world celebrants of the holiday associate the day with green. The real color of St. Patrick’s is blue! We can tell that it is blue thanks to the Illustrious Order of St. Patrick, a now defunct Irish order of chivalry. In most paintings of him, he is dressed in blue vestments.
Now in the last false tale, St. Patrick’s Day is a celebration of his birthday. March 17th is actually the day he died, so completely the opposite of what you were told. Theoretically, we should all be sad and solemn and not celebrate the way we do because its St. Patrick’s death day. Then again, life is really short, and we should live it to the fullest and should be able to celebrate it, but in a responsible manner.
St. Patrick's day is already here so remember to wear green so you don’t get pinched; no one likes to get pinched, so save yourself the trouble. After you put on your best dressed green attire on, stop by McDonald’s to get there famous shamrock shake. Have a fun and safe St. Patrick’s day!
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