What Is St. Patrick’s Day All About Anyways?

SAN ANGELO, TX - St. Patrick's Day, the one day a year when rivers turn green, beer flows like water, and everyone's Irish, at least according to their green T-shirts.

Every March, worldwide, people decide it's time to get their green on, celebrating St. Patrick's Day with more enthusiasm than a leprechaun at a pot of gold sale.

What does it all mean, though? Who is St. Patrick, and why does he even have a day?

According to experts, Patrick was not actually Irish. Born in the late fourth century, he was captured as an adolescent and ended up enslaved in Ireland. He escaped to another part of Europe, where he was trained as a priest and returned to Ireland in the fifth century to promote the spread of Christianity.

Several centuries later, the Catholic Church made him a saint and, like other saints, dedicated a day to him, March 17th. 

So, how did an Irish saint's day become an American thing?

The short answer: Irish people came to America and brought their culture with them. St. Patrick's Day observances date back to before the founding of the U.S. in places like Boston and New York City. The first parade was held in Manhattan in 1762.

While the day was marked with more of a religious framing in Ireland until the 20th century, in America, it became the cultural and boisterous celebration it is today, marked by plenty of people without a trace of Irish heritage.

It was because people in Ireland started seeing how the day was marked in the U.S. that it became more of a festival in the country of its origin rather than strictly a religious observance.

The spread of St. Patrick's Day celebrations in the U.S. was a way for Irish immigrant communities, who in the 19th century faced discrimination and opposition.

And lastly, what's with the four-leaf clovers?

A popular sight during the holiday is the shamrock, or three-leaf clover, which is linked to Ireland and St. Patrick.

The lucky ones, though, come across something that's harder to find: a four-leaf clover. That's because it takes a recessive trait or traits in the clover's genetics for there to be more than the normal three leaves. 

Oh, and by the way, for those who like to shorten names, Use St. Paddy's Day, not St. Patty's Day. Paddy is a nickname for Pádraig, which is the Irish spelling of Patrick.