Saint Patrick’s Day is on March 17th.  Around 149 million people celebrate this holiday in America.  This is an Irish holiday celebrating Saint Patrick. We celebrate on this day because this is the anniversary of Saint Patrick’s death in the 15th century.  This is actually a religious holiday. At the same time of St. Patrick’s Day, it also the Christian season of Lent!

Irish families usually go to church in the morning and celebrate in big groups during the evening. They all get together and dance and then have a huge feast with Irish delicacies.  Saint Patrick became famous because he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland when he was 16. He wasn’t even really from Ireland–he was from Roman Britain! He later escaped slavery and actually decided to return to Ireland.  Many people who live there say that he brought Christianity to Ireland. The reason that three-leaf clovers are so popular during this day is that many say he would explain the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) with them.  After 40 years of teaching and traveling, Saint Patrick died in Saul, where he built his first church in 461 A.D.

In celebration of all the great things he did, America decided to hold him a parade on March 17.  The first parade was held in 1762 in New York City. They had all of the Irish Soldiers in the English Military march around New York with Irish music to remind them of where they came from and the history of their culture.

Saint Patrick’s Day is coming up! Don’t forget to wear all the green you have. I can’t wait to celebrate now that I truly know why we celebrate Saint Patrick’s day every year.