The History of St Patrick s Day for Kids Who is St Patrick

The History of St. Patrick's Day St. Patrick's Day is the celebration of Ireland, its country and its history. And, of course, St. Patrick. So who is St. Patrick and why do we celebrate St. Patrick's Day? St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. In the 5th century, he was enslaved as a 16-year-old in what was then Roman England. He was taken to a farm in Ireland by the kidnappers before escaping and returning to his birthplace. As a bishop in later life, he went back to Ireland to spread the message of Christianity in the predominantly pagan country at the time. Famously, he explained the Holy Trinity using the three leaves of the shamrock to explain the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We celebrate St. Patrick's Day on the 17th of March as this was the date of St. Patrick's death. To properly dive into the history of St. Patrick's Day, we have to travel all the way back to the first ever St. Patrick's Day celebration. The first celebration took place around the 9th or 10th century. The celebrations back then looked a lot different to modern St. Patrick's Day festivities. The first celebrations would have mainly consisted of a special feast to honour St. Patrick. The first St. Patrick's Day parade came some centuries later and interestingly did not take place in Ireland but in America. The parade was held on the 17th of March 1601 in St. Augustine, Florida. It wasn't until the late 1700s in New York over a century after the first parade took place before the parades became a hit. On the 17th of March 1772 a group of Irish soldiers who were serving in the English military marched through New York City to honour the patron saint of their homeland. From this point the popularity of the St. Patrick's Parade started to take off and it soon became a celebration all over America as well as in Ireland. It is even celebrated around the world today in places such as Australia and Brazil. Want to learn more about how we celebrate St. Patrick's Day now? Check out our What is St. Patrick's Day video to learn more.