Today 17th March 2012 marks the annual celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day. St. Patrick’s Day is a Christian festival celebrating the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. The St. Patrick’s Day festivals are now a annual world phenomenon with many countries like Argentina, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom and Canada also participating unofficially in the St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations and Festivities.
I must admit that I have expected Google to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day internationally by placing the Google Doodle on the FrontPage of their international faced search engine. Instead Google have once again this year opted to only display the “St. Patrick’s Day” Google Doodle on the FrontPage of the Irish Search Engine.
Interestingly Ireland received two different Google Doodles within two days. On the 16th of March the Irish Google Search Engine showcased the Irish Google Doodle competition winner Google Doodle. The Doodle 4 Google is a creative completion Google presents where a lucky winner will get some prizes and the ultimate award of having their Google Doodle displayed on the FrontPage of Google.
What is St. Patrick’s Day?
If you ask someone in Ireland what is St. Patrick’s Day they will look at you if you are crazy. However as St. Patrick’s Day is becoming a popular day being celebrated worldwide many people celebrate St. Patrick’s Day but do not know the history and significance of St. Patrick’s Day.
- St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated by the Irish to mark the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.
- St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated yearly on the 17th of March.
- Because it is an Irish holiday the colors “Green” are internationally associated with St. Patrick’s Day and people like to wear Green on the day.
- Many Irish people will visit their churches on St. Patrick’s Day celebrating Christianity in Ireland.
- St. Patrick’s Day also lifts the restrictions on consuming alcohol and eating restrictions from lent. (Lent is another Christian tradition).
- In 1903, Saint Patrick’s Day became an official public holiday in Ireland.
- St. Patrick’s Day is probably the most widely celebrated saint’s day in the world.
In many countries St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated by drinking and consuming large amounts of alcohol without knowing the true meaning of St. Patrick’s Day celebrating the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. The reason why people are consuming large amounts of alcohol is because of restrictions on alcohol use during the days of lent proceeding St. Patrick’s Day, because St. Patrick’s Day lifts the restrictions on using alcohol many Irish would start drinking and consuming alcohol again. This gives people a reason to celebrate, be merry a happy leading to St. Patrick’s Day to be a day of celebrations, festivities and drinking.
Who is St. Patrick?
Little is known of Patrick’s early life, though it is known that he was born in Roman Britain in the fourth century, into a wealthy Romano-British family. His father and grandfather were deacons in the Christian church. At the age of sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken captive to Ireland as a slave. It is believed he was held somewhere on the west coast of Ireland, possibly Mayo, but the exact location is unknown. According to his Confession, he was told by God in a dream to flee from captivity to the coast, where he would board a ship and return to Britain. Upon returning, he quickly joined the Church in Auxerre in Gaul and studied to be a priest.
In 432, he again said that he was called back to Ireland, though as a bishop, to Christianize the Irish from their native polytheism. Irish folklore tells that one of his teaching methods included using the shamrock to explain the Christian doctrine of the Trinity to the Irish people. After nearly thirty years of evangelism, he died on 17 March 461, and according to tradition, was buried at Downpatrick. Although there were other more successful missions to Ireland from Rome, Patrick endured as the principal champion of Irish Christianity and is held in esteem in the Irish church. – Source Wikipedia
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St. Patrick’s Day Colors
This will likely surprise many people as many are convinced that the official color for St. Patrick’s Day have always been green. Originally the St. Patrick’s Day colors were Blue. The colors of St. Patrick’s Day changed to green when Irish Soldiers in the 1798 rebellion decided to wear Green Uniforms to make a political statement. The color green has significance importance in celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. It is said that St. Patrick’s used a three-leaved plant to explain the Holy Trinity in Christianity and the colors of the plant leaves were green.
“The wearing of Green” symbolize that the person celebrating St. Patrick’s Day are a Christian and believe in the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations around the world
Today St. Patrick’s Day are celebrated around the world celebrating the “Irish” and “Drinking” and not necessarily because of the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. Worldwide people assent on pubs in Green and wearing green to celebrate the Irish drinking reputation.
St. Patrick’s Day Google Doodle
“The St Patrick’s Day Google Doodle for 2012 – 17th March 2012”
