THE HISTORY OF

ST. PATRICK'S DAY

 What is St. Patrick's Day? St. Patrick's Day
is celebrated on March 17th each year. It is
the feast day of Ireland's patron saint,
Patrick.

Patrick's Day is celebrated in

Ireland and all over the world by
people of Irish heritage. It has
become a celebration of Irish
culture.
Who was St. Patrick? St. Patrick was actually born in Britain in 387- during
the time Britain was occupied by the Roman Empire. His parents named
him Padráig. He came from a family of priests.
One day, when Padráig was 16, he was kidnapped
by raiders from Ireland. They took him back to
Ireland as a slave, where he was forced to tend
sheep.
Though Padráig came from a Christian family, he
found that there were no Christians in his new
home. The people in Ireland practiced a different
religion. Patrick was lonely, so he decided to pray.
When Padráig was 20, he had a dream that he
believed came from God. Based on his dream,
he escaped from his captors and made it to
the sea. There, he found a ship captain who
agreed to take him back to Britain.
When he arrived back in Britain, he was reunited with
his family. He also decided that he wanted to be a
priest, so he began to study.
 Padráig studied for
many years. He became
a priest, and was then
made a bishop. He
decided to return to
Ireland to tell people
there about what he
believed.
 Padráig, now called
"Patrick," worked in
Ireland for 40 years, telling
people about God. Some
say that he converted all of
Ireland to Christianity. It
is said that by converting
the Irish to Christianity, he
drove the snakes from the
island.
 One of the
important symbols
of St. Patrick's Day is
the shamrock, or
three- leaf clover.
Patrick used the
shamrock to help
people understand
God.
Patrick died on March
17, 461, after spending
many years helping
people and sharing
his beliefs all over
Ireland. He died in the
same place he has
built his first church.
 St. Patrick's Day Today, St. Patrick's Day is as much a
celebration of Irish culture as a celebration of Patrick
himself. People of Irish heritage all over the world wear
green clothes and shamrocks on March 17.
Many people also eat a traditional
Irish meal of corned beef, cabbage,
potatoes, and soda bread. In
Ireland, most people go to church
in the morning.
 In the United States, there are many
people with Irish heritage. Their
ancestors moved to the Us during the
Irish potato famine. So there are many
special celebrations of St. Patrick's Day in
the United States.
 Each year during St. Paddy's Day, the
city of Chicago even dyes the Chicago
River green! The fountain on the lawn
of the White House gets dyed green too!

Many cities also have parades. Did you know

that the first St. Patrick's Day parade ever
took place in New York City in 1762?
 Other symbols of Irish culture have also become associated with St.
Paddy's Day- like the leprechaun. A leprechaun is a magical person
from Irish folk tales. It is said if you can catch a leprechaun, he has to
give you his pot of gold!
 my audio from the st
patrick's day video i
couldn't add it so i
uploaded it separately