St. Patrick was born in Roman Britain in 387 AD. At the age of 16 he was captured and forced into slavery in what is now Ireland. During his 6 years of captivity in Ireland he became very religious. When he finally returned to Britain he became a priest. He then claimed to have a vision that the people of Ireland wanted him to come walk among them. He returned to Ireland and converted many to Christianity. He explained the the concept of the Holy Trinity to the people by using a shamrock with three leaves as a symbol. He also had to face a lot of opposition from other co-religionists for not being Irish. St. Patrick died in 493 AD on March 17.
Why we wear green:
Originally the color associated with St. Patrick was blue. Over the years the color green has grew into the color that represents this day. People would wear green ribbons and shamrocks in as early as the 17th century. In 1798, to make a political statement, Irish soldiers wore bright green uniforms on March 17 in hopes of catching attention for their unusual fashion gimmicks.
Why you get pinched for not wearing your green:
Getting pinched is an American tradition. It really has nothing to do with St. Patrick or Ireland. It is said that this tradition started in the early 1700's and was started because people thought that if you wore green you would be invisible to the Leprechauns, which is a good thing because Leprechauns will pinch anyone they see. So the pinching is to warn and remind you about the Leprechauns.
So, there's why we celebrate St. Patrick's day and why we wear our green!! Hope you all have a great St. Patrick's day!
Nice to know. Thanks!
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