10 Very Interesting Facts about Saint Patrick’s Day
St Patrick’s Day is a cultural and religious holiday observed in Ireland to commemorate the death of the patron saint of Ireland, St Patrick. But besides the common beliefs including the green outfits and green beers, there are several facts about this day which can baffle you! Listed below are 10 such interesting facts about St Patrick’s Day.
1. St Patrick’s real name was Maewyn Succat, and he was born in 387 A.D.
2. St Patrick was a saint of the Catholic Church and though he spent most of his life converting Irish pagans to Christianity, neither was he Irish, nor was he born in Ireland. His parents were Roman citizens living in England and at the time St Patrick was born, the proliferation of the Christian religion was at its peak in Europe.
3. When St Patrick was 16 years old, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and was sold as a slave in Ireland. He lived and worked as a slave for almost six years and managed to escape only when he was 22 years old. The following decade he spent his time in a monastery in England.
4. The first St Patrick’s Day parade was not held in Ireland. In 1737, the first ever parade on St Patrick’s Day was held in Boston. It was organized by a handful of Irish emigrants in an endeavor to celebrate their heritage.
5. In 1961, John F Kennedy had just been elected and inaugurated as the US President and thus had plenty of work and preoccupations he had to attend to. He thus forgot about St Patrick’s Day altogether. When the Ireland ambassador, Thomas Kiernan arrived with a celebratory shamrock, the officials at the White House had to hastily arrange for a green tie for the President so he could pose for the photographs.
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