St. Patrick's Day
Blog,  Intentional Living

St. Patrick’s Day: A Reflection of the Christian History

I have always thought that you had to wear green on St. Patrick’s Day and look out for pots of gold and leprechauns. It might surprise you to know the real reason behind this interesting day. 

As you might have guessed it does have to do with the Irish, but it is actually a religious holiday. St. Patrick was born in Britain to a Christian family but growing up St. Patrick was an atheist. He was captured by pirates and taken to Ireland when he was 16 years old. While in Ireland he worked as a shepherd. He escaped six years later by walking almost 200 miles and convincing a ship to take him back to Britain. 

While on his walk he believed it was God who kept him safe and provided for him. Back in Britain, he became a priest. Years later after becoming a priest, St. Patrick went back to Ireland to spread the word of the gospel and convert people to Christianity. It is said that he used the shamrock as a visual aid to help people understand the trinity of God (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). After he died the Irish celebrated his life and that he helped spread Christianity to Ireland every year. 

I now think of St. Patrick’s Day differently. It is definitely not what I thought the holiday was at all, but that just goes to show we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover alone. We sometimes need to take a closer look at the details. 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! 

Contributed by Carrie Guthmiller

The Editors (January 14, 2021). St. Patrick’s Day 2021: Who was St. Patrick? Why do we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Retrieved from www.almanac.com/content/st-patricks-day on March 14, 2021.

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