I love celebrating holidays in our home. Our dining room is currently adorned with green and gold accents that harken to the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day holiday. No, we aren’t Irish. I don’t think either side of our family has even a little Irish in us, but that won’t stop me from serving Corned Beef with Roasted Cabbage & Potatoes with Rainbow Cupcakes for dessert on March 17th.
Who was St Patrick?
Back in the 4th Century, Maewyn Succat, a 16-year-old boy from Roman Britain, was kidnapped from his father’s home by Irish Raiders. He spent the next 6 years of his life in slavery as a heardsman in Ireland. During his time in captivity, Maewyn turned to his Christian faith for the strength to endure. He was known to give credit for his escape to a vision he had regarding his passage back to Britain. After several years at home, Maewyn returned to Ireland as a missionary and worked to bring the Irish people to Christianity, he adopted the name Patrick when he became a priest and eventually became a Bishop of Ireland. It is believed that he died in the 5th Century on March 17, 461 AD.
Known as the patron saint of Ireland, it’s interesting to learn St Patrick was never actually canonized as a saint. The Catholic church didn’t have a formal canonization process during its 1st millennium, most saints given the title during those years were either martyrs or seen as exceptionally holy for their good works.
Holiday History
Although he wasn’t Irish, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations have deep roots in Ireland. The Irish pride celebration is believed to have begun in the early 17th century as a day to commemorate the arrival of Christianity in Ireland and to honor St Patrick, the man credited with the majority of the explosion of Christianity there. Both Christians and non-Christians alike, have come to embrace St. Patrick’s Day as a day to celebrate the heritage and culture of Ireland through parades, festivals, and wearing green or shamrocks to honor the day.
There is some debate as to when St. Patrick’s Day began in America. Some claim it was in Boston 1737 with a parade hosted by the Charitable Irish Society of Boston, others claim it wasn’t until 1762 when Irish soldiers marched through the streets of New York with music in their own parade. Whatever the origin, the holiday has its fair share of myths and legends surrounding it.
Myths & Legends
One of the most popular myths involves national emblem of Ireland; the Shamrock. Characterized by it’s three-lobed leaves, this low growing clover style plant blankets large areas of ground on many continents. Once worn by Christians in Ireland as a symbol of the cross, the myth surrounding the Shamrock and St. Patrick’s Day credits the saint with using the three leafed plant as a way to explain the Holy Trinity.
A popular curious legend of St. Patrick tells a story of how the patron saint of Ireland drove snakes from the country. Ireland isn’t known for having snakes, this reason would seem to be a great basis for the fable, but it’s the rocky terrain and the fact that the country is surrounded by water that is actually the reason there were no snakes there. In Poetry and Christianity, the serpent, or snake, is often used to symbolize evil. It’s likely that this legend began as a way to immortalize St. Patrick for driving the “pagans” out of Ireland by converting them to Christianity.
Modern St. Patrick’s Day Traditions
Every holiday has colors, food, and festivities that are associated with it, and St. Patrick’s Day is no exception, but historically, green wasn’t always the color associated with the March holiday, it was blue. The Order of St. Patrick was established in 1783 for Ireland by King George III, a Sky Blue color officially known as “St. Patrick’s Blue” was assigned to it. The color is said to have come from Irish Mythology when the sovereign of Ireland was often represented by a woman (goddess) robed in blue. Sometime between the 18th & 20th century, with the rise of the Irish rebellion and the Irishs’ growing disdain for the British crown, the Shamrock and it’s green color arose as the symbol of Ireland.
The Food
Corned Beef, Cabbage, & Potatoes are the foods we automatically associate with St. Patrick’s Day but why? Pork was actually the more common source of meat in Ireland. Cattle were considered sacred for their work strength and beef was rarely part of the Irish diet. In fact, early celebrations of St. Patrick’s day were celebrated with Irish Bacon and not the modern Corned Beef. The large corn kernel sized salt that came from Ireland and was used to salt beef roasts is the reason for the name Corned Beef and it’s association with Ireland.
As for the potato, it was the most common crop and a source of wealth for Ireland leading up the Great Famine of 1845-49. Capable of growing double the sized crop in a smaller area, potatoes are as synonymous with Ireland as Apple Pie is with America. The beloved potato was an obvious choice for the Irish immigrants in America. The inexpensiveness and wide availability of Cabbage rounded out the meal now etched as the food for any St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
The Color
Other traditions celebrated on St. Patrick’s Day revolve around the color green. The Chicago River is annually dyed green, honoring it’s long, extensive history with Irish immigrants, many Irish restaurants and pubs around the world dye beer green to join in with the festivities, and don’t be caught not wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day or you could receive a pinch!
The Celebrations
St. Patrick’s Day parades are held around the globe. Thousands of people participate either in parades or as spectators with the largest and oldest civilian parade being held annually in New York with a recorded 150,000 participants and a estimated 3 million spectators according to History.com.
One of my favorite parts of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day is watching the local Irish Dance groups. As a dancer, I am in awe of the strength and precision they showcase in their footwork, and the beautiful stitching in their costumes that is accompanied by the bounce in their curls. It’s always so much fun watching these dance displays of Irish pride.
It’s safe to say that St. Patrick’s Day has evolved from a primarily Christian holiday to a day honoring the Irish people. Like other holidays honoring different cultures and nationalities, this holiday in March has many forms of festivities depending on where you live. Our family looks forward to our annual Corned Beef, Cabbage, and Potato meal capped off with some type of green or Irish themed dessert.
However you celebrate them, holidays are a fun way to unite friends and family around a common theme, bringing people of all ages together.
Although most of the history of St. Patrick’s Day is widely known, I had a lot of fun researching more of the details surrounding this March holiday. If you’re interested in learning more, you can visit the sources I used using the links below.
“History of St. Patrick’s Day” History.com
“St. Patrick’s Life” stpatricksdayparade.com
“St. Patrick: Little Known Facts” Biography.com
“Saint Patrick’s Day” Britannica.com
“Should We Be Wearing Blue on St. Patrick’s Day” Smithsonian.com
“Is Corned Beef Really Irish?” Smithsonian.com
“Prelude to the Irish Famine: The Potato” westleyjohnston.com