What is the history of Saint Patrick's Day?

Answer 1

It's suspiciously close to Spring equinox, and the customs (drinking green beer, kissing strangers dressed in green, dancing in procession while handing out food and flowers, etc) suspiciously resemble pagan rites of spring. Take a guess...
The site below describes how St. Patrick's day is observed in Ireland, it's considerably more religious and sedate than here in the US. The custom of St. Patrick's Day parades began in the USA and was imported to Ireland some time later, to encourage tourism. Also some info about St. Patrick, and about the customs associated with the day.

Answer 2

A young Briton man, around 419 AD, was kidnapped by Irish marauders. He fit in as best he could, but later fled to Rome.
He became a priest, and heard in his mind the call of God to preach to the Irish.
He brought Christianity to the island.
He never drove out sankes... but as snakes are known to be enemies of Catholicism, or at least in the creation myth... these snakes are thought to be representative of pagan traditions that went underground with the arrival of Jesus and all the host of heavenly angels.
The Irish never ate cornded beef and cabbage- t'was bacon and cabbage- but the Irish in AMERICA found bacon more costly, so corned beef it became.

Answer 3

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity's most widely known figures. But for all his celebrity, his life remains somewhat of a mystery. Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling.



Taken Prisoner By Irish Raiders
It is known that St. Patrick was born in Britain to wealthy parents near the end of the fourth century. He is believed to have died on March 17, around 460 A.D. Although his father was a Christian deacon, it has been suggested that he probably took on the role because of tax incentives and there is no evidence that Patrick came from a particularly religious family. At the age of sixteen, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family's estate. They transported him to Ireland where he spent six years in captivity. (There is some dispute over where this captivity took place. Although many believe he was taken to live in Mount Slemish in County Antrim, it is more likely that he was held in County Mayo near Killala.) During this time, he worked as a shepherd, outdoors and away from people. Lonely and afraid, he turned to his religion for solace, becoming a devout Christian. (It is also believed that Patrick first began to dream of converting the Irish people to Christianity during his captivity.)

Guided By Visions
After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. According to his writing, a voice-which he believed to be God's-spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland.

To do so, Patrick walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo, where it is believed he was held, to the Irish coast. After escaping to Britain, Patrick reported that he experienced a second revelation-an angel in a dream tells him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after, Patrick began religious training, a course of study that lasted more than fifteen years. After his ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland with a dual mission-to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish. (Interestingly, this mission contradicts the widely held notion that Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland.)

Bonfires and Crosses
Familiar with the Irish language and culture, Patrick chose to incorporate traditional ritual into his lessons of Christianity instead of attempting to eradicate native Irish beliefs. For instance, he used bonfires to celebrate Easter since the Irish were used to honoring their gods with fire. He also superimposed a sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross, so that veneration of the symbol would seem more natural to the Irish. (Although there were a small number of Christians on the island when Patrick arrived, most Irish practiced a nature-based pagan religion. The Irish culture centered around a rich tradition of oral legend and myth. When this is considered, it is no surprise that the story of Patrick's life became exaggerated over the centuries-spinning exciting tales to remember history has always been a part of the Irish way of life.)