Over the years, many of our students say one thing they enjoy the most about DreyerCoaching is their chance to learn about American holidays and festivals. Of course, the US has many major holidays, including Easter, Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July, and of course the biggest holiday of the American year, Christmas.
However, many students say they like learning about some of the smaller, lesser-known holidays too, like Memorial Day, Groundhog Day, Valentines Day, and Halloween.
One of those smaller holidays is Saint Patrick’s Day. It is always celebrated on March 17. Like Valentines Day and Halloween, people still go to school and work on that day, when it falls between Monday and Friday. But although the holiday is not really big, it can be a lot of fun.
(Language note: A saint is a holy person. “St.” is the abbreviation for the words “saint” and “street.” So, you need to know the context to know what it stands for. For example,
- Elm St. It stands for “street.”
- St. Valentine. It stands for “saint.
How do Americans celebrate it?
Many holidays have special colors associated with it, and Saint Patrick’s Day is all about the GREEN. This is because, the holiday is associated with the European island country of Ireland. Ireland’s nickname is “The Emerald Isle.” (“Isle” is another word for “island.” “Isle” sounds just like the words “aisle” and “I’ll”) Emeralds are a precious green stone, and because of Ireland’s location, it gets lots of rain and is therefore a very green, lush place.
- So, many Americans wear green on that day. A funny tradition is, if a person does not wear at least a little bit of green clothing, other people can pinch them!
- Many cities have a Saint Patrick’s Day parade on the Saturday before March 17. Since the holiday relates to Ireland, most parades include people playing bagpipes and wearing kilts.
- Foods: A traditional Saint Patrick’s Day meal consists of corned beef and cabbage. Some people eat green donuts or other green foods or drinks.
- Music: some people listen to traditional Irish music or go hear it performed live if possible. Mac and Bob’s is a locally-owned restaurant in Salem, Virginia and they always serve Irish food and provide live Irish music on Saint Patrick’s Day.
- In one very usual tradition, the river in Chicago is dyed green on St. Patrick’s Day.
Where did the holiday start?
The holiday is associated with Ireland, and so probably 99% of Americans believe Patrick was Irish. But he was not! It is a very interesting story.
We cannot be totally sure where Patrick was from, but we think he was born in Britain around 387 AD, when England was a colony of the Roman empire called Britannia. (This is where we get the word “Britain” from today.) He was born into a Christian family, but the faith did not mean much to Patrick in his early years. Around the time he was 14-16, raiders from Ireland attacked his village and took him as a slave back to Ireland. This may shock some people, but yes, Patrick was a white slave. (Many people erroneously believe that being a slave owner or slave depends on skin color, but it is not that simple. It is more a matter of, some people unfairly have more power and some have less. Know your history!)
As a slave, he was sent into the fields to watch sheep. (Till this day, Ireland has lots of sheep.) It was lonely, boring, outside work, plus Irish weather is often cold and rainy. All that, combined with Patrick’s culture shock and homesickness, must have made him miserable. However, in his misery, he turned back to the God he had learned about as a child. As a lone shepherd, he had lots of time to pray and think…and not much else. He later wrote a story of his life, a memoir, called “The Confession.” He said this about a time of his captivity:
“The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was rosed, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers and in the night, nearly the same. I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn. I felt no hurt from the snow or ice or rain.”
(When you read a passage that a person wrote themselves in history, this is called a primary source.)
During his years in Ireland, he sensed the presence of God in ways he had never experienced before. Unlike our days with cell phones and social media, Patrick had almost nothing to distract him! After about five or six years in captivity–at which time he was about 20–he sensed a dream from God telling him to run away and go back home. If a runaway slave got caught, they could be beaten or killed. However, despite the danger, Patrick obeyed the heavenly vision, walked to the coast, and somehow managed to find a boat and return home.
How thrilled he must have been to be at home again, reunited with his family!
But. the excitement was not over!
A few years after his return home, he sensed God speak to him in a new dream. Patrick described it in “The Confession.”
“I saw a man coming, as it were from Ireland. His name was Victoricus, and he carried many letters, and he gave me one of them. I read the heading: ‘The Voice of the Irish.’ As I began the letter, I imagined in that moment that I heard the voice of those very people who were near the wood of Foclut, which is beside the western sea-and they cried out, as with one voice: ‘We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us.'”
So, imagine that. After being kidnapped by the Irish, being held as a slave for years, and risking his life to get back home to safety, God tells him to go back to the Irish and teach them about God and the Bible!
Again, Patrick obeyed the heavenly vision and returned to Ireland, this time not as a slave, but as a volunteer. Still, it was very dangerous. Ireland was still a violent place, and going back he could again be enslaved, beaten, or killed.
According to records, Patrick returned to Ireland on March 25, 433 AD. Miraculously, the Irish received him and he began to teach them about the Bible and Christianity. Since he had lived in Ireland for many years as a slave, he knew the language and culture. That made him uniquely qualified to connect with the Irish people and teach them his faith.
One legend that surrounds Patrick is that he used the common shamrock to teach a spiritual lesson. Patrick explained that, just as the shamrock has three distinct leaves but is still one plant, God has three distinct “persons”–God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit–but there is still only one God.
After about 40 years of ministry in Ireland, Patrick died on March 17, 461. That is why, his holiday is celebrated on that day. After all, the word “holiday” comes from “holy day.”
In his poem “The Breastplate.” Patrick expresses his profound faith in God.
“Christ be within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ inquired, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.”
To an amazing degree, the Irish people turned from their violent paganism and embraced Christianity. As a testament to Patrick’s lasting legacy, Ireland has remained a strongly Catholic country right up until the modern day. Because of Patrick’s incredible, enduring influence on Ireland, he is known as the Patron Saint of Ireland and is widely respected and honored there.
How did the holiday come to America?
You may be wondering: since this is an Irish holiday, why is it celebrated in the USA?
The USA is a “melting pot” of many different languages, cultures, and ethnic groups. In the early 1800’s, there was a potato blight (disease) that caused widespread hunger in Ireland. As a result, millions of Irish left their homes and made the long, difficult voyage to America by ship. When they came here, they brought their language, culture, Catholic religion, and traditions with them. Of course, one major tradition they brought was celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. (Halloween and Jack-0-Lanterns also have Irish roots.) Over more than 15o years, there has been much mixing and intermarriage among the ethnic groups in the US. So today, even many people who have little or no Irish blood like to wear green and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
So now you know more about St. Patrick’s Day. Does it sound fun to you?
Would you like to know more about American holidays and the English language? Learn more about our online English classes and contact Scott to tell him your goals so he can help make a customized plan for you!
Learn more:
https://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/who-was-saint-patrick
https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=89
Podcast about Patrick and Skellig Michael — obscure Irish monks in remote monasteries saved much ancient, classical scholarship during the chaotic Middle Ages.