On this day, not wearing green is a crime punishable by a pinch. Shamrocks are all the rage, and Celtic music with a wee bit of jig mixed in sets the tone. St. Patrick’s Day, a holiday that celebrates Ireland, had a religious beginning.

St. Patrick’s Day is set to honor a man of the same name. According to the website, www.stpatty.info, this question is one that has an elaborate answer. There are two possibilities of who exactly Patrick was. It could be the Roman Saint Palladius, or it could be the man who most consider to be Patrick was named Magonas Sucatus.

“I know that St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland,” senior Olivia Zody said. “I’m pretty sure the day is supposed to recognize the arrival of Christianity into Ireland.”

Contrary to popular belief, Magonas Sucatus was not Irish, but British.  Sucatus was captured by King Niall around age 16 and served as a slave to the high priest who purchased him. Many a tale talks about how Patrick heard a voice, causing him to become greatly influenced in faith and to escape slavery around age 20. The voice is said to be God’s own voice.

“I don’t know anything about the history,” junior Audrey Jones said. “All I know is I get to wear green on the day.”

The explanation of the shamrock is also religious, namely Christian. The three leaves of a classic shamrock represent the Holy Trinity, being God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. The four-leafed clover many people know, represents luck, but has no religious ties such as that of the three-leafed shamrock.

A legend that revolves around St. Patrick is that he banished all snakes from Ireland. The story goes that St. Patrick held a staff, comparable to Moses’, and then rid Ireland of snakes. His abhorrence of snakes sprouts from being attacked by them. Since that day, there hasn’t been a snake found in Ireland, apart from in zoos or in studies.

“The only thing I know about St. Patrick’s day is that he, St. Patrick, chased a bunch of snakes out of Ireland,” sophomore Sarah Rooney said.

The scientific explanation as to why this is so, is that there was a harsh pattern around 1.8 million years ago that involved many sheets of ice burying all of Ireland underneath, which made it impossible for any cold-blooded animal, including snakes, to survive.

Another tradition, this one for those 21 and up, is to drink the Irish dark beer, Guinness. This was not always so, as this is a religious holiday, bars used to be closed. The main tradition of this holiday is food. A common meal includes corned beef and cabbage, but the original meal consisted of Irish bacon and cabbage. Corned beef is actually a Jewish food.

“Happy St. Patty’s Day” and “Happy St. Paddy’s Day” decorations adorn the store walls, causing one to question what the difference is. Patty is actually a shortening of the female name, Patricia. Paddy is the correct shorthand for Patrick.

Junior Kendall Kandt wraps up the history of St. Patrick’s day in a shorter sense.

“The history of St. Patrick’s Day starts with St. Patrick,” Kandt said. “He was the most widely regarded and known patron saint of Ireland and is credited with the bringing of Christianity to Ireland.

“The day eventually evolved into a celebration of Irish culture in general. Ironically the color blue was originally associated with Saint Patrick, but as the holiday grew as a celebration of Irish culture the color green became the primary color due to Ireland’s fame as the Emerald Isle.

“The Shamrock became associated with the holiday because St. Patrick used one to describe the holy trinity when first describing Christianity to the Irish.”

14srohleder@usd489.com