Word on the street tells us St. Patrick is the man behind green beer, owned a pet leprechaun and had affinity for pinching people who weren’t wearing his color of choice. But as people continue to consume exorbitant amounts of green beer (which dyes anything it comes in contact with, including teeth), chant Irish bar songs and find something green to wear, it’s time we figure out just what the holiday means and how the myths began.
Although St. Patrick is somewhat of a celebrity in our world today, the story around his life is often distorted or shaded with ambiguity. What we do know about him is that he is credited with “driving the snakes from Ireland.” The saying, however, is really a metaphor for the way he eradicated paganism in Ireland during the fifth century, cleansing the island from years of misguided theology. St. Patrick is not just a product of Western imagination or an embellishment of tradition and culture—he’s a prominent hero of modern Christianity.
St. Patrick was born a Briton at the end of the fourth century, but was kidnapped and taken to Ireland, where he spent six years in captivity as a shepherd. During his seclusion, he found solace in a deeper relationship with the Christian God.
After he became free, he spent seven years in Europe trying to figure out what his purpose in life was. Feeling convicted to bring the faith back to the people of Ireland, St. Patrick studied at the Lerin Monastery to become a priest. Although he was not the first to bring Christianity to the Irish, he was the one who made faith relevant to the people and spread the Gospel further than it had gone before.
As one familiar with the Irish traditions, St. Patrick chose to combine Christianity with some of the pagan imagery in Irish culture to ease the civilians into a new faith and lifestyle, instead of trying to completely strip them of their heritage. Because the Irish of that time were very organic in their religion, St. Patrick incorporated symbols of Christianity and fused them with symbols from nature. The universally recognized Celtic cross, for example, is the combination of the pagan sun and the Christian cross.
For the Irish pagans who practiced pluralistic theologies, St. Patrick used the shamrock to illustrate the triune nature of God; he explained that as three leaves grow from the same stem, so the three personalities of God come from the same being. It is also taught in Irish culture that the three leaves represent hope, faith and love, while the rare fourth represents luck. The shamrock was considered sacred by the ancient Celts because it represented fertility and the rebirth of spring. Not only did St. Patrick illustrate the Holy Trinity in a unique and refreshing way, he chose an image to spread his message that was familiar and already esteemed by the Irish people.
As with many ancient holidays, we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17 because that is the anniversary of the saint’s death. What began as a day of mourning for the saint became a day to commemorate and celebrate his life. And, like many other holidays, the life of St. Patrick has become trivialized and redefined in the eyes of mass appeal. But the modern commercialization of the day shouldn’t negate the contributions St. Patrick made to Christianity and the Irish community.
For many, St. Patrick’s Day has long been celebrated as a day of religious piety. Up until the 1970s, pubs were not allowed to be open on St. Patrick’s Day in observance of the holiday. It wasn’t until 1995 that the Irish government decided to use St. Patrick’s Day as a way to encourage tourism and showcase Ireland to the rest of the world.
This year St. Patrick’s Day was officially moved by the Roman Catholic Church from March 17 to the 15th to avoid a conflict with Holy Monday (the Monday that falls during the week preceding Easter Sunday). Yes, that’s right. St. Patrick’s Day has already come and gone this year, and chances are you missed it.
So what does the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day mean in our lives today? It still represents the life of a saint who was willing to be innovative and make sacrifices to bring the Gospel to a lost people. The holiday can also be an inspiration for anyone who is struggling to figure out what their place is and how to have maximum impact on the world.
Whether or not you choose to wear green, go to a parade, drink green beer so that your teeth resemble a mouthful of mold or stick to eating an entire box of Lucky Charms cereal, there are lessons to learn from St. Patrick. Radical faith and passion to see the Kingdom of Heaven rain down on earth should be enough for us to celebrate and remember the message behind St. Patrick’s Day.
