The Saint Patrick's Day Joke

One of my personally favorite holidays is St. Patrick's Day. Honestly, you have to admire the sheer irony of this holiday - it's loaded with it! From the strong American influence that bolstered its popularity in its own country to the remembering of a Catholic saint with spirits this holiday is the most backwards you'll find on the calendar. I'm totally in love with this holiday.

First for a little history lesson:

The man who would become Saint Patrick was born a pagan by the name of Maewyn. At 16 he was sold into slavery by a group of marauders that raided his village. During his captivity he converted to Christianity. After six years of slavery he escaped to the monastery under St. Germain, bishop of Auxerre. He remained there for twelve years and it was here that he felt the calling to convert Irish pagans over to Christianity. He was given the job as a default when his successor transferred to Scotland. Maewyn had adopted the Christian name Patrick and was appointed as second bishop to Ireland.

Patrick was quite successful at winning over converts and set up schools and churches in which to help his cause. His mission lasted for 30 years before he retired. He died on March 17, AD 461. That is the day commemorated as St. Patrick's Day.St. Patrick's Day came to America when the country was still young - even before it won its independence! Boston held its first St. Patrick's Day parade in 1737, and does so still today. In the grand tradition of irony, St. Patrick's Day has actually been a bigger celebration in American in recent history than in Ireland.

Today, the holiday parade in Dublin, Ireland is part of a five-day festival, but this has only been tradition since 2006. It didn't even become a public holiday in Ireland until 1903, before it was only a religious holiday. In the 1990s the Irish government began to use the holiday to campaign Irish heritage and tradition, but not before America had been doing so for over 300 years.