St. Patrick's Day means drinking green beer, partying, wearing green and pinching those who fail to conform to the tradition. However, there is much more to this Irish holiday than meets the eye.
Aside from these annual rituals, there is a history and background in Ireland concerning this holiday, which has been recognized as a religious one for more than a thousand years. It is really a day to think about Saint Patrick and what he did in Ireland regarding evangelism, and it is also a time for those with Irish ancestry to think about family members and friends across the Atlantic in the home country.
Saint Patrick
"It's all to celebrate St. Patrick, of course," freshman speech pathology major Megan Geoppinger said. Geoppinger is also an Irish dancer, a hobby that arises from her Irish background. She said that it arose from immigrants that combined different types of dance into this one style, and clothing is important with Irish dancing. Schools hire seamstresses to design dresses for their students. Irish dancing is also a source of pride for participants.
With this Irish background, Geoppinger has memories of St. Patrick's Day from when she was younger.
"Growing up, we always put our shoes in the hallway and when we would wake up, they would be filled with candy," she said.
Geoppinger also said it is a day to celebrate the feast day as well as the day St. Patrick died. Saint Patrick was a real saint, and is praised by the Irish people, specifically on this day.
"Saint Patrick really did exist, although he was not Irish," associate professor of history Frederick Suppe said.
Saint Patrick was born on the western coast of what is now England and Wales, or the Roman province of Britain, Suppe said. Although the exact dates of his life are unknown, he was alive around 400 A.D. St. Patrick was raised in a Christian home, but when he was 16 he was kidnapped from this home by raiders from Ireland. He remained in Ireland for six years as a slave.
However, while he there, St. Patrick received a vision from God and escaped from Ireland to return home, Suppe said. But God appeared to him again, encouraging him to return to Ireland, this time as a Christian missionary. The date commonly accepted for his return is 432 A.D.
Following his return, St. Patrick was rather successful in converting the Irish to Christianity, his purpose as a missionary, Suppe said. The northern part of Ireland received much of his work.
"By the later middle ages, Patrick was probably the best known Irish saint," Suppe said.
Then, during the 19th century, the Irish who had emigrated to North America began to miss their homeland, Suppe said. Therefore, the celebration of St. Patrick's Day came to the U.S. It became a way for them to remember where they came from and their heritage, but the day is primarily used to celebrate this saint who helped the Irish people.
The Shamrock
"The shamrock is actually a three-leaf clover and legend has it that [St.] Patrick used this plant as a visual device to help explain to the Irish the Christian concept of one God who was also a trinity — just as the plant has three leaves attached to a single stem," Suppe said.
This plant was considered sacred in ancient Ireland because it was used to symbolize the beginning of spring. However, as the English took Irish land and made laws condemning practices of the Irish people, the symbol meaning quickly shifted to that of Irish nationalism, one of pride for the people.
The Leprechaun (and pinching)
Suppe said that leprechauns are another-worldly spirit that exists purely in Irish folklore. History.com describes them as cranky little men whose sole responsibility was to mend the shoes of other Irish folklore fairies.
Walt Disney was actually the man who bought leprechauns in association with St. Patrick's Day in the United States. The release of the film "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" in 1959 was the introduction to a different leprechaun image from the grouchy, grumpy old little man. The figure is associated with Ireland itself but does not hold any connection to St. Patrick's Day, Suppe said. America invented the association.
There is one exception. Geoppinger said leprechauns might play a role in the tradition of pinching those who fail to wear the color green on March 17.
"I believe that if you didn't wear green, then it was a sign that the leprechauns were going to ‘get you,'" Geoppinger said.
Historical information from history.com
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