By: Katelyn Lara
(Photo Credits: The New York Times)
Centuries ago on March 17, 1631, the first Saint Patrick’s Day celebration occurred. Saint Patrick’s Day began as a celebration to honor the namesake patron saint of Ireland. Although Saint Patrick’s Day is seen as an Irish holiday, Saint Patrick was Roman. However, when he was sixteen, he was taken to Ireland where he was enslaved for six years. Eventually, he escaped and then returned to preach Christianity to the Irish. Saint Patrick did many acts of service for the Irish including beginning various schools and churches. The Catholic Church never proclaimed him a Saint but due to his widespread popularity, the title caught on and this widespread popularity later led to his celebration.
Even though Saint Patrick’s Day started as a Catholic holiday, the Irish Rebellion caused it to become widespread. The English had controlled Ireland because they wanted to export their crops. The Irish were left with only potatoes to eat because of the English exporting the majority of the Irish’s food. Eventually, fungi hit the potato crops and led to the Irish Potato Famine. The English kept exporting livestock ignoring this issue and the Irish resorted to eating grass. People spoke of the mouths of the Irish being green as they died. To show their opposition towards the British, the Irish made the color of Saint Patrick’s Day green. Eventually, in 1903 Saint Patrick’s Day became an official public holiday by the Irish.
As the Irish immigrated from Ireland to the United States due to harsh conditions, they brought their culture with them, and so the first Saint Patrick’s Day Parade was held in 1762 in New York. Saint Patrick’s Day making it onto the United States calendars makes it a success to the Irish because it is a way for them to show the English that they have succeeded in showing how far they have come from being oppressed.
Works Cited:
www.countryliving.com/life/entertainment/a26622047/st-patricks-day-history/.
apnews.com/article/st-patricks-day-irish-holidays-fourleaf-clovers-69cff15d799be00ed1473ec9f3c52a5a
