Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Why is it that the date of the death of Irland's patron saint is celebrated worldwide? There are many other saints and many other patron saints, but most are celebrated locally and not all over the world as St. Pat is. There is something intriguing about St. Patrick and all the greenery that happens on March 17. The real St. Patrick was born in the 4th Century and is thought to have been taken as a slave from Roman Britain to Ireland. He escaped, returned to Britain and became a priest. He later returned to Ireland and is credited with Christianizing the Irish from their native religion. Folklore says that he used a shamrock to explain the Christian doctrine of the Trinity to the Irish people. That was likely where “the wearing of the green” originated. St. Patrick’s Day and the wearing of green has been celebrated as early as the 17th century. Today, we continue to wear green on March 17th and show off our green in other ways: bars offer green beer, the Chicago River is dyed green, and many businesses change the lights on their buildings to green for the day. The Irish have contributed a great deal to Canada. Irish-Canadian engineering developed and built the Rideau canal system, Irish immigrants helped build the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway and one-third of Canada’s 22 prime ministers have Irish ancestry! So, wear your green clothes today and tip a green beer to the memory of St. Patrick. Wearing of the green on St. Patty’s Day . . it’s a good thing!