Today, Saint Patrick’s Day is a celebration of Irish heritage, featuring corned-beef and boiled cabbage and potatoes, and occasionally green beer. However, this wasn’t always the case. Saint Patrick’s Day began as the feast day in honor of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. He was born in Roman Britain and lived there until he was kidnaped at age 16 and taken to Ireland as a slave by Irish pirates. After six years, he escaped and returned to his home in Roman Britain. He became a bishop. He then returned to Ireland, bringing Christianity with him and converting hundreds of Anglo-Saxons and Picts. There are many legends surrounding Saint Patrick, including that he drove the snakes from Ireland, that he taught the Holy Trinity using a shamrock, and that he raised 33 men from the dead.

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Initially, the color blue was associated with the Irish people and St. Patrick’s Day, as it was featured in the royal court and on the ancient Irish flag. This lasted until 1798, when, during the Irish rebellion the Irish adopted the color green. One common wartime song was “The Wearing of the Green,” which solidified the color as a symbol of the Irish people. Drinking beer also was not a part of the culture of this holiday because in the late 1900s pubs were forced to close for the day. Only in the 1980s did the company Budweiser[CO1] ’s marketing campaign start the tradition. Saint Patrick’s Day has become a more secularized holiday, but still pays homage to the Irish tradition and patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick.