Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

For some, it comes as a surprise to learn that St. Patrick was a historical figure (and not a mythical leprecaun or the like). Others are astonished to learn that St. Patrick was not in fact Irish. But perhaps the most amazing thing about St. Patrick is that we have record of his own writing, one of which is a short autobiography called Confession (based on his closing words “This is my confession before I die”).

Interestingly, “Patrick is literally the only individual we know from fifth-century Ireland or England. Not only do no other written records from Britain or Ireland exist from that century, but there are simply no written records at all from Ireland prior to Patrick’s” (McSorley, Anita, “The Saint Patrick You Never Knew“).

Though St. Patrick’s Day is recognized throughout the country, few people know the intriguing story of this great man’s life. It is far more dramatic than most fiction: he was captured as a youth in Britain, dragged to Ireland as a slave, came to Christ through the great hardship of slavery, escaped from Ireland, and was soon thereafter called by God to return to Ireland and preach the gospel.

Patrick’s obedience to God’s call and his devotion to the people who had once enslaved him changed the course of history for the country of Ireland, and arguably for all of Western civilization (see Thomas Cahill’s book, How the Irish Saved Civilization).

For more on the history of St. Patrick and how the holiday came to be, see our St. Patrick’s Day History page.

Our hope is that our St. Patrick’s Day pages (history, symbols, songs, stories, recipes, crafts and ideas) will contribute to your celebration of a man who whole-heartedly served the Lord. If you have any questions that are not answered on this site, or if you have suggestions for ways that we can improve content, please contact us.

May your celebrations be rich and meaningful!

The Celebrating Holidays Team