St. Patrick’s Day is seen as a cause to celebrate everything Irish in a wide range of countries across the world.

Everywhere that the Irish have settled – from Ireland to the United States and from Argentina to New Zealand, millions of people dress up in green and head to the bars and clubs for a pint of Guinness and a jolly old knees up.

But who was St. Patrick and why the association with the colour green and the shamrock plant?

St. Patrick – The Patron Saint of Ireland

Saint Patrick was born in Roman Britain in the fifth century. His father was a deacon in the Church, as was his father before him. When Patrick was 16, it is said that he was captured by Irish raiders and taken to Ireland as a slave.

According to Patrick’s Confession, God appeared to him in a dream and told him to flee from captivity to the coast. Patrick did this and boarded a ship to Britain and later joined the Church in Gaul, where he studied to be a priest.

In 432, Patrick headed back to Ireland as a bishop to save the Irish, which he successfully did. One of Patrick’s teaching methods included using the shamrock – a three-leaved plant (unless you’re lucky enough to find one with four leaves) – to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish people.

Following this, the wearing and displaying of shamrocks have become a trademark of the Irish people. This was further concreted as a tradition when Irish soldiers wore shamrocks and full green clothing in order to make a political statement in 1798.

St. Patrick’s Day Traditions

Originally, St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated as a one-day break during Lent. Because of this, it was seen by many as a good excuse to drink plenty of alcohol.

Over the years, this has become a tradition of St. Patrick’s Day. So much so that Irish MP, James O’Mara, introduced a law which required that pubs be closed on St. Patrick’s Day after drinking became excessive.

This was introduced in the early 1900s and was only repealed in the 1970s. Can you imagine St. Patrick’s Day with no pubs and bars open today?

The colour originally associated with St. Patrick’s was actually blue. Over the years, and perhaps because of the shamrock, this colour has changed to green.

St. Patrick’s Day in New Zealand

As in many other countries across the world, St. Patrick’s Day is widely celebrated in New Zealand. As in Ireland, it is tradition for people to wear green items of clothing, particularly including hats and shamrock designs, and head out to bars from the early afternoon to late at night.

The day is seen as a great excuse to celebrate all things Irish. The Irish emmigrated in large numbers to New Zealand during the 1800s, and the irish have had a large impact on New Zealand’s social and political growth.

Despite St. Patrick’s Day not being classed as an official public holiday, festivities and parades are common.

This article was kindly supplied by NZS.