Introduction 

There are around 70 million people worldwide that have Irish heritage. To have that many people that claim an Irish heritage and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, you would think that more people would actually know the history of St. Patrick’s Day. However, many people, even those that claim to have an Irish heritage, do not know the history of St. Patrick’s day. Hopefully, this article will inform you about one of the more popular cultural holidays in the US and Ireland. 

 History 

St. Patrick’s day is based on a man named Patrick, who was a patron saint of Ireland. He was born in the late 4th century in Roman Britain. Patrick was kidnapped at the age of 16 and taken to Ireland as a slave. While he escaped from Ireland, he later returned to convert the Irish populace to Christianity. Patrick established many monasteries, schools, and churches. St. Patrick is also renowned as a national hero because he drove the snakes out of Ireland and used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. St. Patrick died on March 17th, 461 but his legacy lives on.   

 Impact

There have been lasting effects of St. Patrick after his death. Since 1737, beginning with the Boston St. Patrick’s day parade, America has been celebrating St. Patrick’s day. The holiday of St. Patrick’s day is mostly secular and usually celebrated through Irish celebrations. People honor their Irish heritage by wearing green, the color of the Irish national plant, a Shamrock. While St. Patrick’s day is not celebrated worldwide, the contributions of St. Patrick are still remembered to this day.