Who is St. Patrick and Why Are We Wearing Green

There was a time when I could only guess what corned beef was. I knew all about shamrocks, they were the focus of drawing assignments in my grade school art class somewhere right between Christmas and Easter when snow covered the ground the most. The thick cardboard templates of the three-leafed clover emerged from the template drawer when the reindeer ones were put back in, and hung from a hook just left of the spooky painted images by someone named Van Gogh. Drawing them with my green crayon was as natural to me at that time of the year as it was to color pumpkin patch pictures when the leaves turned colors and the air turned cold. But the relevance behind the shamrock assignments was lost to me. It wasn't until I grew a little older that I began to understand the meaning behind Irish symbolism and March 17th.

As I grew even older, I became a stickler when it came to traditional celebrations and the understanding behind their origins, and found myself dismayed with the ignorance of those who participated in festivities and had little clue as to why the festivities were happening in the first place. As an increasing number of non-Irish take part in St. Patrick Day festivities throughout America, Canada, Australia, Europe and wherever else Irish settlers had taken up residency throughout their long history, it is important to know the origins of the day. For those who continue to slip into the category of not knowing why we tip a pint of beer after partaking in a traditional meal of boiled cabbage and potatoes, let me introduce you to what is going on here.