Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

It was time to do a little research on the “wearing of the green”! We commonly think of St. Patrick’s Day, 4 leaf clovers and corned beef and cabbage and Irish soda bread. Leprechauns and rainbows and pots of gold pop up everywhere. I always buy shamrocks for my house and I even have a set of shamrock lights for my windows. So, it was time to do a little reading about the history of St. Patrick’s Day.

The holiday is named after St. Patrick, a Patron Saint of Ireland, who died around the fifth century. March 17th is believed to have been the day St. Patrick died.

The celebration began  in 1631 by the Catholic Church as a Feast Day honoring St. Patrick—one of many church holidays. The holiday was imported to North America by Irish immigrants who morphed it into a worldwide celebration of Irish culture.

Legend has it that St. Patrick used the shamrock, a three-leaf clover, to teach the Christian doctrine of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in one.

Green as an Irish color has political origins. In 1641, Catholic local leaders revolted against the English crown, using a green flag with a harp as an emblem. Green was worn again during the Irish Rebellion of 1798.