St. Patrick's Day!!

Every year on March 17, Irish-Americans celebrate a holiday called St. Patrick’s Day.  St. Patrick’s Day celebrates an English man named Patrick who lived during the time of the Roman Empire.  At the time, the empire had converted to Christianity.  Patrick, himself, was Christian.  He grew up in a fairly wealthy family in England.  He than was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave.  He worked in Ireland as a shepherd for many years and then escaped back to the European main land.  After escaping, Patrick studied Christianity even more and eventually became a monk.  Later, Patrick returned to Ireland to convert the Pagan Irish people to Christianity.  Now Patrick is celebrated on the day he died, March 17, AD 461. Surprisingly, most of the people who celebrate this holiday are Irish-Americans.  In Ireland, it is not a very commonly recognized holiday.       

There are many ways that people celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.  A commonly eaten meal is corned beef and cabbage.  Many cities host St. Patrick’s Day parade.  In fact, Holyoke, a city close to Springfield, has the second biggest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the US.  New York City has the biggest.  Green is often a color associated with March 17 so you might see people wearing it.  People also think of shamrocks and leprechauns St. Patrick’s Day. 

My family is part Irish and we celebrate this holiday every year and have a lot of fun doing it.