St. Patrick's Day: The Real Story

Where it really comes from

Patrick was real, and his story is one of the most moving in church history. He was born in Roman Britain in the 400s; his father was a deacon. At about 16 he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and spent six years as a slave tending animals, where he turned to God in prayer. He escaped and made it home. Then he dreamed that the people of Ireland were calling him to come and walk among them once more, and he went back, as a missionary to the very people who had enslaved him. We know this because his own writing, the Confession, still survives. March 17 is the traditional date of his death.

What people say vs. what history shows

Myth: “St. Patrick's Day is just about drinking, leprechauns, and luck.”

Solid: nearly all historians agree.

Those came much later, mostly from Irish-American celebrations. The day began as a feast in honor of a missionary, and it was added to the church calendar in the 1600s. Leprechauns come from Irish folklore and have nothing to do with Patrick.

Myth: “Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Trinity.”

Likely: strong case, some debate.

A lovely story, but probably a legend. It first appears in writing in 1726, more than 1,200 years after Patrick. People were wearing shamrocks on his day by the 1600s, though. Either way, Patrick did teach the Trinity: his Confession includes a clear statement of faith in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Myth: “Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland.”

Solid: nearly all historians agree.

Ireland has had no native snakes since the Ice Age. The story is a later legend, probably meant as a picture of Patrick driving out evil and false worship.

The customs, honestly

• Wearing green (Folk custom): Folk and national custom. For centuries the color tied to Patrick and Ireland was actually blue; green came later.
• Shamrocks (Mixed roots): Worn on his feast day since at least the 1600s. The Trinity explanation is a later tradition (see above).
• Church services (Christian origin): In Ireland the day began, and for many still begins, with going to church.

For kids

Patrick was taken from his home and made a slave in Ireland. He escaped, but God put love in his heart for the people who hurt him, so he went back to tell them about Jesus!

Talk about it

Is there someone hard to love whom God might be asking you to forgive, or to tell about Jesus?

Read it in the Bible

Matthew 5:44 · Romans 10:14-15 · Genesis 50:20

Sources

• St. Patrick, Confessio (5th century)
• Caleb Threlkeld, Synopsis Stirpium Hibernicarum (1726), first written shamrock-Trinity link
• Time: How the shamrock became a symbol of St. Patrick's Day