It's not all about the Leprechauns

It's Not All About the Leprechauns
Why We Celebrate St. Patrick's Day

Some children are told that if they don’t wear green on St. Patrick’s Day, they will get pinched by a leprechaun – a warning that scares them to death of leprechauns and convinces them to wear green. But what is St. Patrick’s Day really about? Who was St. Patrick, and why does he have his own day? What about the leprechauns; how did they come into the picture? St. Patrick’s Day deserves more respect and knowledge than it gets. It is a real holiday with a real meaning. The question is, what is that meaning?

Patrick was only sixteen years old when he was kidnapped by a group of Celts known as "Irish Raiders." The raiders took Patrick back to Ireland, where he was sold to a local chieftain. Patrick was put in charge of watching his master’s sheep. Spending the days out on a small hill with the sheep, he was isolated and left to talk to no one but God. Finally, after six years of watching sheep and living as a slave, he escaped and returned home to Britain.

When Patrick got back to Britain, he was given a message telling him to "return to Ireland and spread the word about God." After receiving this message, Patrick spent fifteen years studying the bible and attending seminaries. In 432 A.D., Patrick was made a bishop; he was forty-five years old. Shortly after being named a bishop, Patrick returned to Ireland to carry out his mission: to spread God to the people of Ireland. In his lifetime, Patrick founded hundreds of churches and showed countless people the ways of God.

In 461 A.D., Patrick died and was declared a saint. The Irish are known for celebrating when someone dies. They don’t mourn like Americans or people in many other cultures. They celebrate, saying that it is a new beginning for the deceased person. Therefore, when Saint Patrick died, the people of Ireland had a "feast day." March 17th was then known as St. Patrick’s Day. It was the day he died, and they wanted to celebrate the man who brought God to them.

Over the years, two meanings have come from St. Patrick’s Day. Some people still celebrate it as the day of St. Patrick’s death, thanking God for St. Patrick and all the good deeds that he accomplished for the Irish, such as bringing Christianity to Ireland. Others see it as a day to celebrate their Irish nationality and all things green, the color of the "Emerald Isle." They take pride in their heritage and enjoy showing it off. This may be where the connection to leprechauns comes from. Leprechauns are said to live in Ireland and they dress all in green. Whether or not they really exist is up to the individual, but nobody seems to know how they came into the picture. That is a mystery left unsolved.

Now, every year on March 17th, people gather all around the world to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, whether for reasons of religion or heritage. It seems to be, by far, one of the most misunderstood holidays, and needs to be looked over carefully in order to see its real meaning. So, this St. Patrick’s Day, be sure to share what the true meaning is. Tell everyone about St. Patrick and what he did for Irish people everywhere… and don’t forget to wear green!

***Information comes from the History Channel and the History Channel website.***

This is another one of the articles I wrote when I was on the newspaper staff. It is for St. Patricks day-yes-but hey! I'm Irish, I celebrate it every day. ;)

You can find it posted online here from where I wrote it:

http://my.highschooljournalism.org/pa/bloomsburg/knhs/article.cfm?eid=3188&aid=43189

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