Guest Author - Karyn Johnson

St. Patrick (born Maewyn) was believed to have been born sometime between 372 and 390 AD, in an area that is between what is now modern day northern England or southern Scotland. He was the son of Roman parents. He called himself Patricius, which means well-born in Latin. His family was very wealthy, and his father was a Christian deacon, although his position had more to do with income than with religious beliefs. When Maewyn was a teenager, he was taken captive by Irish raiders who had invaded his family's land. Thus began six years of slavery in Ireland, mainly as a shepherd.

While captive, he wrote that God spoke to him in a dream and told him to flee Ireland. He managed to escape to Britain, where an angel appeared to him in a dream and told him to return to Ireland, this time, as a missionary. He began fifteen years of religious training, and then made his return to Ireland - to minister to those who were already Christian, and to convert those who weren't.

While in Ireland, he reworked pagan symbols to apply them to Christian worship, and thus, he converted millions. He spent forty years in Ireland, building churches, and converting the masses. It is believed that he died on March 17, 461, at Saul, where his first church was built.

Of course, St. Patrick is famous for driving all the snakes out of Ireland. This is only a myth, as biologists have proven that there were no such creatures in Ireland before or during that time. Snakes were worshipped as pagan symbols, so the action for which St. Patrick is famous is probably more symbolic, since he rid Ireland of paganism, for the most part.

St. Patrick's Day in Modern Day Britain

England has plenty of festivals to celebrate the Feast of St. Patrick. Birmingham has a large annual celebration, with a parade as its centerpiece. London has an Irish festival in Trafalgar Square. The fountains spill green water for the day, and there is a parade, dancing, music, and Irish food. Manchester has the largest Irish festival in the UK, which takes place over a two week period.

Every St. Patrick's Day, the Irish Guard, a battalion of the British Royal Army, is given shamrock by a member of the British Royal Family. The tradition started in 1901, but was taken up by the Queen Mother in 1964, as she always had a soft spot in her heart for them. She typically came in person to bestow this honor on the Irishmen (who hailed from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland), despite a conflict with the Cheltenham Festival (a series of horse races that typically coincide with St. Patrick's Day). Now, this duty has been passed to another member of the Royal Family.

St. Patrick's Day is a holiday that is widely celebrated the world over. In fact, he is celebrated in England more than they celebrate their own patron saint, St. George (whose feast day is largely ignored on April 23rd). But on a day when everyone claims to be Irish, they should take a minute and remember the British roots of this holiday too. If St. Patrick had been born a Celt, rather than a Roman Briton, the events that shaped his life would never have occurred, and he would never have risen to the level of greatness that he achieved, or helped to make Ireland what it is today.