St.Patrick's Day

Green Island

There are numerous legends about the Saint, that can't be surely confirmed as historical truth. The most famous are about expelling snakes and about trefoil. Some people say that he expelled all the snakes from the island by beating his drum, so they never came back to Ireland. The legend of trefoil says that Patrick took three-leaves-trefoil from the land and used it to explain the Holly Trinity. That's why trefoil is an Irish symbol, instead of the cross



By DRAGANA KUPREŠANIN
from Belgrade, SERBIA


St. Patrick's Day marks the date of his death in the fifth Century (461 or 493 ad) and it is celebrated on March 17 as Irish Protector Day. The Irish celebrate this day as a religious holiday for more than thousand years, honoring the man who brought Christianity to their country. On St. Patrick's Day, which comes in season of fast, the Irish families go to church in the morning and no longer fast that day, people celebrate, dance and cook traditional food. Because of the religious aspect of the holiday, the pubs in Ireland were banned from working on that day, until 1970. St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin is visited by more than one million people every year.

Some papers say that Patrick was probably born in Wales in 385ad. When he was 16, the Irish pirates kidnapped him. But after six years in prison he ran away and went to the monastery in France. He dedicated himself to religion and after a short period he came back to Ireland to preach Christianity, in spite of druid threats. He kept on doing his mission for thirty years.

There are numerous legends about the Saint, that can't be surely confirmed as historical truth. The most famous are about expelling snakes and about trefoil. Some people say that he expelled all the snakes from the island by beating his drum, so they never came back to Ireland. But, as there are no papers to prove that there were snakes in Ireland at that time, it's possible the snakes are only used as symbols.

The legend of the trefoil says that Patrick took three-leaves-trefoil from the land and used it to explain the Holly Trinity. That's why trefoil is an Irish symbol, instead of the cross.

The leaf of trefoil and the green color is worn on this day, even the face and hair are colored green! If someone is wearing nothing green during celebration, the others should warn them about that mistake by pinching them. But if you don't see well and pinch someone who actually wears something green, they can take revenge in the same way but ten times more!

The holiday has more typical symbols, like the leprechaun. They are older, beardy, drunk dwarfs who are shoe makers and keepers of the gold that the Vikings left on the hidden places during the robberies in Ireland. There is also a story that a rainbow is shining over the places where their gold is hidden, so they start digging and moving the pots every time the rainbow appears on the sky.

Although this holiday in Ireland is very much about religious ceremonies and praying, the rest of the world celebrates St. Patrick's Day like a usual holiday with no religious importance. The celebration became popular after the great American ceremonies organized by Irish settlers since the 18th Century and it became a symbol for everything Irish. The first celebration of St. Patrick's Day in the U.S.A. was held in Boston, Massachusetts, 250 years ago. Chicago, Illionois, colors its' river green on that day. According to one old tale, the tradition of Irish parades on this day started in New York. Twelve Irish, members of the New York state army, decided to march to breakfast on St. Patrick's Day 1762. Later on, it became a tradition throughout the United States. Today, the New York Parade is the greatest one in America, where thousands of people walk along the Fifth Avenue.

In Serbia, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by Irish music concerts - groups like the "Orthodox Celts" and "Irish Stew", and Irish dance troops - "Celtic Rhythm", "Celtic Spirit", "Erin's Fiddle". For Irish that live in Belgrade, Irish pubs traditionally organize celebrations, where numerous fans of Irish music and dance gather together.


(Published: 10.04.2008.)

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