St. Patrick’s Day, otherwise known as fáinne Chladaigh in Irish, is celebrated on March 17th, dating back to the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland in 461 AD. A time of feasts, festivals, and parades (and let’s not forget the drinking!), St. Patrick’s Day is both a cultural and religious event.

In the early 17th century, it became a national feast day in Ireland. The complete history of how this holiday came to be, and how it was influenced by the various churches over time is quite extensive, but I’m going to keep this short and sweet.

Although modern day pagans will be sad to learn that St. Patrick was the saint who converted Irish pagans to Christianity, at least they can still look forward to all of the parties, festivities, drinking, and general mayhem. St. Patrick used the symbol of the clover / shamrock to explain the holy trinity, and still remains as a symbol for St. Patrick’s Day today. 

Traditionally, people contribute to the celebration by wearing shamrocks and green. In modern days, we’ve now added green beer to the list of traditions! No matter how you choose to celebrate, Sláinte! – Irish Gaelic for ‘cheers’ meaning “good health.”