St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick’s Day

The feast of Saint Patrick is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick, saint of Ireland. Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks. Christians also attend church services. According to legend, Patrick died on March 17; the celebration of his death is known to take place in many countries such as, Canada, United States, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. In the Declaration it says he spent many years converting “thousands” to Christianity. St Patrick is said to have used the shamrock, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish. The Friendly Brothers of St Patrick, an Irish fraternity founded in about 1750, adopted green as its color. Green would become associated with Irish nationalism, throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the color green and its association with St Patrick's Day grew.