St. Patrick's Day from Ireland to Arkansas

When you think of St. Patrick's Day, chances are you think of shamrocks, green beer and painful pinches if you are unlucky enough to be caught without an article of green clothing. But despite the secular overtones of the holiday, St. Patrick's Day was originally a feast day for one of the most successful European missionaries. Who exactly was St. Patrick and how did his holy day become a raucous celebration?

Much of what is known about St. Patrick is based on speculation. What is known is that he was born in Wales to a Roman family around 385. When he was 16, he was kidnapped by Irish marauders and forced into slavery. Before his stint as a slave, he considered himself a pagan, but while held in captivity, he heard a voice urging him to convert the pagans to Christianity. He escaped from his captors and made his way to Gaul, where he studied for twelve years under the auspices of St. Germain.

He had a burning desire to return to Ireland, but was passed over until the first bishop of Ireland left for Scotland after only two years. St. Patrick was then appointed the second bishop of Ireland, where he remained for 30 years. He died on March 17, 461.

After his death, legends began to take root in the fertlile Irish imagination. One legend that is most likely true is St. Patrick's use of the shamrock to explain the trinity. He used each leaf to represent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to show how each aspect of the Christian Godhead could be separate but still part of a cohesive whole. It became tradition to wear a shamrock on St. Patrick's Day, a tradition that lives on today.

It is believed by some that St. Patrick preached a sermon that was so moving, that all of the snakes in Ireland were driven off the island. Snakes were never native to Ireland, however, and many scholars believe that the snakes were symbolic of the mass conversion of pagans.