St Patrick´s Day

The holiday has evolved into a celebration of Irish heritage and culture with parades, special foods, music, dancing, drinking and lots of green. Saint Patrick was born in the 4th century in Great Britain. Son of a deacon, he was kidnapped when he was only 16 years old. There he became the slave of an Irish druid. Saint Patrick was a 5th century missionary to Ireland and later served as bishop there. He is credited with bringing Christianity to parts of Ireland and was probably partly responsible for the Christianization of the Picts and Anglo-Saxons. Considered to this day as the patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17, the anniversary of Saint Patrick’s death in the year 461.

Saint Patrick’s patronages include protection against plagues and snake bites, and he is also a patron saint of engineers due to the large number of churches he built in Ireland. Initially the color associated with Saint Patrick was blue, not green. By the 17th century, the shamrock had become a symbol of emerging Irish nationalism. When the English began to seize Irish lands and enact laws against the use of the Irish language and the practice of Catholicism, many Irish began to use the shamrock as a symbol of their pride in their heritage and their discontent with English rule. Green was finally introduced into the St. Patrick’s Day festivities in the 18th century, when the shamrock became a national symbol, called “seamroy” by the Celts, a sacred plant, symbol of the rebirth of spring. Due to the popularity of the shamrock and the landscape of Ireland, the color became attached to the holiday.

Four-leaf clovers are believed to be a Celtic amulet and were used as magical protection against evil spirits and to ward off bad luck. The clover leaves represent faith, hope, luck and love. Whoever comes across a four-leaf clover will receive good luck and will be protected against any bad luck.