St Patrick

Born in Roman era Britain, Patrick (born Maewyn Succat) was captured by pirates and brought to Ireland where he worked as an enslaved
shepherd. While he was there, Patrick learned Irish and strengthened his relationship with God through prayer. After being in Ireland for
6 years, Patrick returned to Britain and became a cleric. Patrick then returned to Ireland as a bishop where he helped spread Christianity
throughout the isle of Ireland and his story of chasing snakes out of Ireland was just a fancy way of saying he brought the devil and its
evilness to its knees. This is why St Patrick is Ireland's patron saint. His feast day 17 March is on his death anniversary and he only became
associated with the colour green when the shamrock became a national symbol (even though the harp is the main national symbol for
Ireland). The reason why people wear green for St Patrick is because of an old tradition of wearing green to avoid getting pinch by
leprechauns who originally wore red.
While St Patrick's grave in Downpatrick is in Northern Ireland's borders, he is celebrated around the world thanks to people of Irish
descent commemorating him on his feast day. A lot of business and schools get the day off on St Patrick's Day in Ireland and there are
parades as well with men dressing up as St Patrick.