Who is Saint Patrick and what to do on his day?
Hey there! March the 17th is coming soon, so we decided to tell you about St. Patrick's Day.
Let's start with Patrick, because people who celebrate his day nowadays know little of him. The most important source of information about him is a book that he wrote himself, "Confession". His life, like that of many Christian saints, was difficult and sometimes tragic, but righteous.
He was born in Britain to a relatively wealthy family. However, he did not receive a good education, as "Confession" was written in bad Latin, and he called himself illiterate. At the age of 16, he was kidnapped by robbers from his parents' house and taken to Ireland, where he was tending sheep. During his captivity, he came to believe in God under the influence of other Christian slaves from Britain.
Then he managed to escape from his captors and go by ship to Britain, where on the way he was again attacked by robbers and taken prisoner for 60 days, but he was able to escape once more. The way Saint Patrick describes this period of his life is very similar to the wanderings of Moses. At home, he received the priesthood and began to climb the ladder of the church hierarchy.
He returned to Ireland already as a bishop. It is not known why he made such a decision – the sources of that time say that he either saw an angel who gave him a letter from the people of Ireland, or began to hear their voices. At first, St. Patrick's flock were slaves, women and robbers, but then he probably enlisted the support of local rulers and nobility, and began to massively convert the Irish to Christianity.
According to various testimonies, he built 300-600 churches and baptized more than 12 thousand people. He is revered as the apostle of Ireland and its chief patron saint. The place and circumstances of his death are not known, but we know the date – March 17th. On this day they celebrate his feast.
The Irish loved St. Patrick a lot, so his figure was surrounded by myths and legends, and then integrated into local folklore along with leprechauns and fairies. For the Irish diaspora, St. Patrick was a symbol of the homeland, so until recently, his day was celebrated more outside of Ireland than in it.
P.S. Funny enough, but St. Patrick has nothing to do with beer, the drinking of which has become a crucial part of his holiday. He neither brewed it nor drank it. The real patron saint of brewing and hop picking is Arnold of Soissons.
What to do on St. Patrick's Day?
- If you have a financial ability to travel, it's a good idea to visit Dublin these days to watch the celebrations and visit the famous St. Patrick's Cathedral.
- Visiting the festivals. It is not necessary to travel far. Find out what events are planned in your city these days. Perhaps the local Irish community is preparing a holiday program.
- Go to an Irish pub for traditional food and a beer, or set the table at home. Food can be cooked by yourself or ordered from a delivery service. Throw a party for friends or prepare a small family feast.
- Read books about Irish folklore or watch movies and cartoons.
- Set up a treasure hunt. Going into the woods in search of leprechaun gold is a dangerous thing to do, but you and your family can hide gifts for each other in the house or in the city, and draw a map of how to get to them.
- Decorate your home or make holiday cards.
- Play board games, such as Monopoly.
- Psp tagging is also a good thing. See what psp tubes and scrap kits for St. Patrick's Day our store offers.
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