Issue date: 3/12/09 Section: Showcase

One day of the year, thousands of people around the country dress up in green, drink lots of beer, and talk about leprechauns while watching a parade of Irish pride.

St. Patrick's Day has become a day of festivity for people of all backgrounds and all religious beliefs; it's a day to enjoy and to celebrate. But how many people actually know what it is they're celebrating?

Maybe St. Patrick's Day is about the season. Senior Bec Le Koshak said it's "a day to wear green and think of spring - and hope it finally gets here."

Or maybe it's about the food or family. Senior Angela Tyler described St. Patrick's Day as "an excuse to eat corned beef, cabbage and red potatoes."

Or possibly St. Patrick's Day is just about the celebration.

"In Eau Claire, it's mainly a day to consume a lot of green beer," said senior Chase Kunkel.

It would seem that the holiday means something different for everybody. So where did this strange day of festivity come from? For the answer, one must go to the source: Ireland.


History
The holiday, obviously, is centered around St. Patrick, but much of the man's life is unknown. What is known is that he was not actually from Ireland, according to History.com. He was from Great Britain, but he was kidnapped and forced to work in Ireland as a shepherd for six years.

During this time, he turned to religion and became a devout Christian. Then, after six years of labor, he escaped, according to the Web site.

After he left Ireland, St. Patrick focused on religious studies for more than 15 years before becoming ordained as a priest, according to the Web site. Then he returned to Ireland and began converting the Irish to Christianity.

On March 17, around A.D. 460, he died, and the day remains a holiday today: St. Patrick's Day.

There are a few popular myths concerning St. Patrick, with varying degrees of truthfulness to them, according to the Web site.

For example, there is a story that he banished all the snakes from Ireland with only his staff to help him, but really, there never were any snakes in the Emerald Isle.

There is also a story that St. Patrick used the shamrock to teach the holy trinity, and that's why it has such a relation with Ireland today, but it is unknown if this is true or not.

The shamrock was also an important symbol in pagan Ireland because it represented the rebirth of spring, so its importance may have had something to do with that.

As for the leprechaun, the other important symbol of St. Patrick's Day and Ireland, the little green man had nothing to do with the holiday until the United States recreated him, according to History.com. Until midway through the 20th Century, the leprechaun was not a part of St. Patrick's Day. He was a cranky little man that repaired the other elves' shoes.

It was Walt Disney, in his 1959 film Darby O'Gill & the Little People, who created the cheerful leprechaun known today, and he soon became a symbol of the Irish and, of course, their holiday.


Present day
Today, there are all sorts of traditions associated with St. Patrick's Day, and many Americans do things that some might see as crazy. In Chicago, for example, they use vegetable dye to turn the river green for a few hours. There are also huge parades across the country, and green beer is not at all uncommon in bars and pubs. And anyone who's not wearing green is liable to get pinched.

Shane Byrne, a resident of Leixlip, Ireland, said St. Patrick's Day celebrations in the actual country of origin are not quite as extravagant. He had never heard of green beer, for one.

"I think everything is done on a grander scale over there (the United States)," he said. "Over here, people might wear a green hat or have an Irish flag, but dying the river green would just not happen."

There is a big parade in the center of Dublin, Byrne said, but it's not as much about the green as many parades in the United States.

"It's actually more colorful than you would expect," he said. Schools and other groups put together floats, and there is a theme each year to the parade. Last year's theme was energy.

Some things do remain the same between the two country's celebrations. Four-leafed clovers are good luck in Ireland, Byrne said, just as they are here. Also, for many people, the most important part of the holiday is the celebration itself.

"I know for young people, drinking is the most important thing," he said.

But no matter the method of celebration, St. Patrick's Day is a day that can be enjoyed by all.

As Byrne said, "It's a day to have a good time."

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