After the recent Saint Patrick’s Day, I began to wonder how the holiday came to be. As I found out, the holiday originated in Ireland and has Christian roots. In the modern day, Saint Patrick’s Day is known for wearing green, leprechauns, and their pots of gold. Some people celebrate Irish history, but it is not often that the holiday is actually observed in honor of the person it is named after, Saint Patrick. Maybe it is just me, but in my twenty-four years on this planet, I had no idea who Saint Patrick was. My goal in this article is to briefly summarize the life of Saint Patrick and the history of the holiday named after him.

Saint Patrick lived in the 5th century. He was born in Britain around 390 AD, but was kidnapped when he was sixteen and taken to Ireland, where he was enslaved. It was in Ireland that Patrick became a devout Christian. Patrick eventually escaped Ireland six years later and returned to Britain. The story goes that he had a dream in which a voice (which Patrick believed was God) told him to leave Ireland. Once Patrick returned to Britain, he began studying to become a priest after another dream in which an angel told him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Patrick became an ordained priest, and fifteen years later, he returned to Ireland to spread Christianity and support the small Christian population already residing there. It is believed that Saint Patrick died on March 17, 461 AD.

Saint Patrick was evidently successful in helping to spread Christianity in Ireland, which is why the holiday is named Saint Patrick's Day. However, as mentioned previously, there was already a Christian population in Ireland, so Saint Patrick did not truly bring Christianity to Ireland; he instead helped contribute to its growth. There are many fabricated stories and myths surrounding Saint Patrick, but much of what is historically known about him can be found in his writings, such as Confession and A Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus.

The celebration of Saint Patrick's Day has changed over the years and, like many other Christian holidays, has secular elements. Saint Patrick’s Day began to be observed by Irish Catholics around 800 to 900 AD. In 1631, the Catholic Church officially recognized March 17 as the Feast Day of Saint Patrick. However, most modern traditions of the holiday were established in the United States between 1600 and 1700. In fact, the first St. Patrick's Day parade was held in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1601. In 1762, the first Saint Patrick’s Day parade in New York City was held. Without turning this paper into a history of Irish immigration in the United States, I will say that the holiday grew more popular as the Irish population in the United States grew, and it has now become ingrained in American culture. The celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day grew, and in 1903, Ireland recognized it as an official holiday. The holiday's popularity has grown over the last few centuries, and it has become what it is today. I wrote this article to draw the reader's attention to the history behind Saint Patrick's Day.