|
Do you celebrate Saint Patrick's Day? Alot of people do! Have you ever wondered about the story behind this holiday?
In Dublin, Ireland, there are two Protestant churches, and one is Saint Patrick's. This saint's history started out in the fifth century but not in Ireland, though. Yet one of the paths of his life would take him there eventually.
Patrick was actually born in Britain. When he was just a teenager, about sixteen years old, he was captured by British pirates and taken to Ireland where he was sold into slavery. For the next six years, he worked as a herdsman for his master. During this time, he learned the Irish language and became quite fluent in it. By the time he was in his early twenties, he managed to escape from bondage. He immediately returned to his homeland of Britain. However, Patrick is said to have had a vision, and in this vision, the people of Ireland were begging him to return and preach and share his Christian faith with them.
Patrick traveled extensively and he studied religion in many monasteries before he finally returned to Ireland as a missionary. He was still on the lam as an escaped slave, but that did not stop Patrick from traveling, preaching, and successfully spreading the word of the Gospel. He also was successful in building churches and converted people from all across Ireland.
Legend tells us that the shamrock became associated with Saint Patrick's Day because of a time when he was trying to explain the concept of the trinity--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost--to some unbelievers in one of his congregations. The unbelievers simply could not understand the concept of there being one God, yet three beings in one too. It is said that Patrick was preaching outside in an open-air church service. He then reached down and plucked a shamrock from the ground. He then showed it to the unbelievers and then went on to explain how the three leaves of the shamrock are united on one stalk. Thus, the three parts of the trinity are united in one God.
To this day, the shamrock is the symbol of the trinity of the Christian church as well as being the national symbol of Ireland. It is also considered to symbolize the "luck of the Irish" too.
Patrick became a church deacon, then went on to become a priest, and finally he was ordained as a bishop. Saint Patrick ended up becoming the patron Saint of Ireland. On the seventeenth of every March, he is honored with a day of commemoration of his religious works. People in Ireland as well as in the United States, wear green clothing or a green shamrock to join in on the celebration of this day. Many places hold organized parades and throw parties too. In Ireland, many businesses keep their doors closed up on Saint Patrick's Day. Many people also attend special services at their church.
Saint Patrick is believed to have died in 493 AD and was buried in his beloved land of Ireland.
|
| |
