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The True Meaning of St. Patrick’s Day
By Maxwell Coppans
St. Patrick's Day is a popular holiday with parades, parties and lots of green However, there's more to this holiday than meets the eye.
According to Modern World History teacher Dr. Strickland, St. Patrick’s Day is traditionally a religious holiday in Ireland that recognizes Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland He was a 5th-century missionary who is credited with spreading Christianity in Ireland Furthermore, since St Patrick's Day falls during the religious season of Lent, bars in Ireland were forbidden to open to the public, a practice that lasted until the 1970s.
St. Patrick’s Day became popular in the U S when Irish immigrants in cities like New York, Boston and Chicago used it to celebrate their heritage Over time, this became a popular celebration even for people with no Irish blood.
In recent years, the American way of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day has made its way back to Ireland. If you attended a St. Patrick's Day parade in Dublin this year, you would find it very similar to American festivities. The day has transformed from a very reserved religious observance into a worldwide celebration of Irish culture, mixing old traditions with new ones.
This year’s upper school Student Council thought that celebrating St Patrick’s Day would be an excellent way to build school spirit.
According to Student Council President Josh Sanders, many student council members felt nostalgia for the days when all of the upper school would eat lunch together in the cafeteria and hoped a St. Patrick’s Day celebration would attract students Since it fell during spring break this year, the student council decorated the cafeteria on the Thursday before, handing out chocolates to students who showed up and to those who wore green.
“I was surprised by how many people participated in our celebration,” Josh said “It was a small victory.”
St. Patrick's Day has become something way bigger than it was originally Learning about its origins can help us appreciate why it continues to bring people together!
