St. Patrick’s Day is approaching and will take place on March 17, there will be parades and many other things to do on this day. The History of St. Patrick’s Day begins around the year of 461 AD when Saint Patrick passed away on March 17th. The life of Saint Patrick is not well known because not much information is available and there are not a lot of documents from that time other than that he was a missionary in Ireland who was born in Britain during the late years of the Roman Empire. He is credited with bringing Christianity to parts of Ireland and was partly responsible for the Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons and the Picts. 

      Saint Patrick is regarded as the primary patron saint of Ireland and is also known as the “Apostle of Ireland”. The holiday was first observed around the 10th century but wasn’t made an official holiday until 1631 when the Church established a day of feasting in honor of the work he did for Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day would spread worldwide from Irish immigrants that moved to places such as the United States, Japan, Russia, and many other countries. There are many symbolic figures of St. Patrick’s Day such as the Leprechauns, pots of gold, and the classic Shamrock leaf as they are a big part of Celtic culture and a part of Ireland’s culture and myths. 

     Besides all of that, there is one more extremely important aspect about St. Patrick’s Day. It is crucial to wear some shade of green on the 17th so that pinching doesn’t occur. This tradition started in the American colonies in the early 1700s and became a big part of St. Patrick’s Day in the United States. It was determined that wearing green makes you invisible to leprechauns. Seeing that leprechauns love to pinch people, and can only see those not wearing green, the people themselves began to take part in the pinching.  St. Patricks Day is also celebrated with parades, feasts, eating special foods, dancing, and drinking. So if free time is available take part in some festivities with family and friends, go to a parade or take part in listening to some classic Irish music and dance along but just remember this, always wear green or the leprechauns will start pinching.