Although St. Patrick’s Day is famous for its Irish heritage and folklore, it’s not just for the Irish. People of all backgrounds don a bit of green and think shamrocks and leprechaunsHere’s a bit of the blarney on how it all started.Who was St. Patrick?St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is credited for bringing Christianity to the Irish. Most theories suggest the Irish chose March 17 as the day to celebrate St. Patrick because it is the anniversary of his death. The celebration was intended as a day of spiritual renewal.S-s-sneaky S-s-snakesOne story commonly associated with St. Patrick is the banishing all the snakes from Ireland. This story is believed to be false – the product of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling.The ironic twist to the story is that snakes probably never inhabited the country because it became an island, separated from the rest of the continent at the end of the Ice Age. A more believable theory is that the banishing of the snakes was a metaphor for the eradication of pagan ideology from Ireland and the triumph of Christianity.Not just a symbol of luckAlthough it has not been proven, it is believed that St. Patrick used the shamrock to illustrate the Christian doctrine of the trinity. The first written mention of the shamrock tale did not appear until nearly a thousand years after Patrick’s death.By the 17th century, the shamrock became a symbol of emerging Irish nationalism. As the English began to seize Irish land and make laws against the use of the Irish language and the practice of Catholicism, many Irish wore the shamrock as a symbol of pride in their heritage and their displeasure with English rule.Lucky little leprechaunsThe original Irish name for these folklore figures was “lobaircin,” meaning “small-bodied fellow.” Leprechauns had nothing to do with St. Patrick or the holiday.Belief in leprechauns probably stems from Celtic belief in fairies, tiny men and women who could use their magical powers to serve good or evil. In Celtic folktales, leprechauns were cranky souls, responsible for mending the shoes of the other fairies. Though only minor figures in Celtic folklore, leprechauns were known for their trickery, which they often used to protect their fabled treasure.No matter the history or the blarney that followed, the shamrock and the leprechaun remain symbolic of the St. Patrick’s Day celebration, alongside corned beef and cabbage.Source: www.historychannel.com
