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St. Patrick the man. St. Patrick was born in Britain in 385 AD. Aged 16, he was sold into slavery to a sheep farmer in Ireland, from whom he escaped at the age of 22. He spent the next 12 years of his life in a monastery until, in his 30s, he returned to Ireland as a Christian missionary. It wasn’t until the eighth century that St. Patrick became revered as the patron saint of Ireland. It is thought that he died in 460 AD on March 17.
St. Patrick the legend. Legend has it that St. Patrick banished snakes from Ireland, but evidence points to the fact that Ireland never had snakes in the first place, leading to suggestions that the ‘snakes’ in the legend refers to the serpent symbolism of the Druids. Another abiding St. Patrick legend is that he taught the Irish the concept of the Trinity by showing them the Shamrock, the 3-leaved clover, with each clover within the Shamrock representing one of three divine persons in one God.
The feast day of St. Patrick. While St. Patrick’s day is celebrated throughout the world, it is only a national holiday in Ireland (a bank holiday in Northern Ireland and a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland). While the day’s festivities have now become a fun-filled celebration of all things Irish, it is a holy day of obligation for Catholics. While the day nearly always falls in Lent, if it does so on a Friday in Lent, some bishops grant an ‘indult’ or release from the Friday no-meat observance which is sometimes known as a “corned-beef indult”!
St. Patrick’s day around the world. This is the whole world’s chance to celebrate everything Irish, and countries around the globe celebrate in style. The Chicago River in the United States is dyed green for the day; the United Kingdom sees street parties, parades and festivals up and down the country; Argentina gives over designated streets for all-night parties; while Florence in Italy holds ‘Festa Irlandese’, ten days of live music, food and drink.
St. Patrick’s day in Ireland. Of course, the Irish put on the biggest celebration of ‘St. Paddy’s’ day themselves, with festivities lasting for up to a week and taking in Irish food, drink, music, entertainment, song and dance. Just about every village, town and city in Ireland holds their own celebrations, so what better way to see as much as possible than with campervan hire in Ireland (camper Irlanda). Celtic Campervans has been helping people from all over the world experience the true St. Patrick’s day celebrations for decades with motorhome rental in Ireland (noleggio camper Irlanda). Find out more at http://www.celticcampervans.com/
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