who is saint patrick and what is st patrick's day?

Saint Patrick's Day (Irish: Lá ’le Pádraig or Lá Fhéile Pádraig), colloquially St. Paddy's Day or Paddy's Day, is an annual feast day which celebrates Saint Patrick (circa 385–461 AD), one of the patron saints of Ireland, and is generally celebrated on March 17.

The day is the national holiday of Ireland. It is a bank holiday in Northern Ireland and a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland and Montserrat. In Canada, Great Britain, Australia, the United States and New Zealand, it is widely celebrated but is not an official holiday. [1]

It became a feast day in the Roman Catholic Church due to the influence of the Waterford-born Franciscan scholar Luke Wadding[2] in the early part of the 17th century, and is a holy day of obligation for Roman Catholics in Ireland. The feast day usually falls during Lent; if it falls on a Friday of Lent (unless it is Good Friday), the obligation to abstain from eating meat can be lifted by the local bishop. The date of the feast is occasionally, yet controversially, moved by church authorities when March 17 falls during Holy Week; this happened in 1940 when Saint Patrick's Day was observed on April 3 in order to avoid it coinciding with Palm Sunday, and happened again in 2008, having been observed on 15 March.[3] [4]

Irish Society of Boston organized what was the first Saint Patrick's Day Parade in the colonies on 17 March 1737.[25] The first celebration of Saint Patrick's Day in New York City was held at the Crown and Thistle Tavern in 1756,[26] and New York's first Saint Patrick's Day Parade was held on 17 March 1762 by Irish soldiers in the British Army. In 1780, General George Washington, who commanded soldiers of Irish descent in the Continental Army, allowed his troops a holiday on 17 March “as an act of solidarity with the Irish in their fight for independence."[27][28] This event became known as The St. Patrick's Day Encampment of 1780.[25] Today, Saint Patrick's Day is widely celebrated in America by Irish and non-Irish alike.

Americans celebrate the holiday by wearing green clothing. Many people, regardless of ethnic background, wear green-coloured clothing and items. Traditionally, those who are caught not wearing green are pinched.[29]

Some cities paint the traffic stripe of their parade routes green. Chicago dyes its river green and has done so since 1961 when sewer workers used green dye to check for sewer discharges and got the idea to turn the river green for St. Patrick's Day.[30] Indianapolis also dyes its main canal green. Savannah dyes its downtown city fountains green. Missouri University of Science and Technology - St Pat's Board Alumni paint 12 city blocks kelly green with mops before the annual parade.[citation needed] In Jamestown, New York, the Chadakoin River (a small tributary that connects Conewango Creek with its source at Chautauqua Lake) is dyed green each year.

Saint Patrick is a patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's day is the annual feast day which celebrates Saint Patrick (circa 385–461 AD), and is generally celebrated on March 17.

St. Patrick was and British boy who was forced into slavery. after he returned to his home from Ireland. He had a dream that lead him to actually return to Ireland and mission to the people there who where mostly pagan. he is thought to have been the person who drove away all the snakes from Ireland and taught the trinity through the use of a clover, but all these are myth.

it rather is not any biggee! The English do exactly no longer seem to pass in for all that form of stuff, and ST George is extra a mythical parent. he's likewise the buyer saint of Spain. If he ever existed in any respect, it rather is! while there are Irish international huge ( and that they are nor distant places) and robust outdated St Paddy certainly further a faith into eire (and apparently have been given rid of each and every of the snakes as properly) So pass on, grab a flag and get caught in!

Actually, St. Patrick was Italian they said so on the Today show yesterday...weird!

go on the history channel.com

thats how i found out about the holiday...

st. patrick was an irish who was stolen from his family and became a slave for the britians and he showed the irish christianity and a clover repesents the picture of st.patrick holding the clover in the stain glass picture of him.