One of Ireland’s most festive days is celebrated on 17 March. That is St. Patrick’s Day. On this day thousands of people take the streets of the country to party.

But do you know the history of this icon of Ireland? No?

In this article we will talk a little about the history of this one of the oldest Catholic saints in the world and the origin of this traditional festival. Enjoy your reading!

Who was St. Patrick?

Patrick is one of the oldest Catholic saints in the world, born around the year 389, and although most of his life revolves around theories, there is plenty of evidence of his story.

At the age of just 16, he was captured by Irish pirates and taken to the island of Ireland and enslaved for six years, when he then escaped and returned to Britain.

It was during the captive period that he developed his faith and then would have returned to Ireland of his own volition in order to fulfil a mission.

St. Patrick’s Clover

Legend has it that St. Patrick felt called by God to return to Ireland, different from the first journey in which he was enslaved by pirates.

His function this time would be to announce the divine word to the Irish people. It is worth mentioning that before returning to the country he spent some time in France.

There he studied theology in a monastery, and his return to Ireland occurred in the year 432 when he had already been ordained bishop.

One of the marks of his work was to use clover, which is a common plant on the Irish island, as a way of explaining the Christian concept of the trinity: God the father, God the son and God the holy spirit.

He was also attributed with driving out all snakes from Ireland, which is why he is depicted in several images crushing snakes with staffs.

However, his holiness is attributed to preaching. He is reported to have turned the church into a great encourager of the Christian faith.

St. Patrick’s relationship with beer

Incredibly, there is no relation of St. Patrick to beer. What is known is that as time went by the Irish migrated to other countries.

One of these destinations was the United States, where the first St. Patrick’s Day celebrations were held in 1601.

Over time, March 17 became a bank holiday in Ireland, and that is why people do what they like most: celebrate and drink beer, after all, this is a typical drink of the country.

Did you like to know a little bit of the history of St. Patrick? Then share this article with all your friends on your social networks.

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