Saint Patrick's Day

Nowadays:

Saint Patrick's Day, March 17, is an annual celebration of the patron saint of
Ireland. It is a national holiday in Ireland, and millions of Irish people all
over the world where there are Irish communities celebrate. Celebrations
are based on all things Irish and the colour green. City authorities in
Chicago even dye the city’s river green for this day. Many people wear
green clothes, eat Irish food and drink the Irish drink Guinness, which many
bars also try and dye green. There are also traditional St Patrick’s Day
parades. The one in Dublin is spread over five days and attracts half a
million people. The New York parade is the largest, with two million
spectators. Many people with no Irish connections celebrate and declare
themselves Irish for a day.

St Patrick:

Saint Patrick was born in Britain at the end of the 4th century. When he was
16,he was sold as a slave in Ireland and worked as a shepherd. He escaped
and spent twelve years at a monastery in France. Later, he returned to
Ireland to teach people about Christianity. It is said that Saint Patrick drove
all the snakes out of Ireland. He became Bishop of Ireland in 431 and died
on 17th March 461. Unlike other saints, Patrick was never canonized by a
Pope, although most Christian churches list him as a “Saint in Heaven”.

Irish symbols:

The harp is the oldest official symbol of Ireland, but the shamrock, a symbol
of good luck, is perhaps the most famous. When Saint Patrick first came to
Ireland, he used the three leaves of the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity
of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Ireland is also known as the
Emerald Isle and it is said that the Irish countryside contains forty shades of
green. Surprisingly, the official colour of Ireland is blue.

Irland:

Ireland became a fully independent republic in 1949, also known by its

original name Eire. Dublin is the capital city. Today it has a population of
almost four million five hundred thousand inhabitants, most of them are
Catholic.