Why Does Everyone Drink on Saint Patrick’s Day?
On the other hand, Saint Patrick’s Day was not originally a religious holiday; it was invented by Irish immigrants in the United States as a way to gather together and not forget their heritage. On the other hand, in Ireland, it has been customary to celebrate holidays extravagantly since ancient times, as evidenced by various sagas.
For example, the saga “The Intoxication of the Ulstermen” tells of the hero Cú Chulainn, who invited King Conchobar to a feast and stocked up on beer—”150 barrels of each type.” The preparation of food and drink for a royal feast is also described in the saga “The Feast of the Fort of the Geese,” among many others. So, it can be said that Saint Patrick’s Day on March 17th is less about religion per se and more about archaic rituals with a primarily social purpose.
Who Was Patrick Really?
This is a complex question with no simple answer. There are various legends about a man named Patrick. One story tells of a young man from a noble Christian Romano-British family born in the late 4th century. He was captured by Irish pirates in his youth and taken into slavery. After six years, he managed to escape from Ireland to Gaul and then to Rome. Another story describes a man who, in 432 AD, began preaching Christianity in Ireland, calling himself a bishop (although it is unclear who consecrated him and where).
In the 7th century, the first Latin hagiographies of Patrick appeared, merging these two stories into one. However, scholars of the Irish church doubt that these stories refer to the same person. In the 1940s, historian Thomas O’Rahilly hypothesized the existence of two Patricks, proposing to name them Patricius Junior and Patricius Senior (“the younger” and “the elder”). This theory helps reconcile the varying dates of the saint’s death in the Irish annals, which range from 461 to 492 or even later.
The main source of biographical information about Patrick is the “Confession,” supposedly written by him. Early versions have not survived; only a list from 630 exists, the authenticity of which remains questionable. In 1905, Irish historian John Bury suggested that Patrick never existed at all and that his biography was a creation of monks. In 1962, Daniel Binchy, an expert in Irish law, philology, and linguistics, argued that Patrick did exist and that he himself wrote the “Confession.”
In short, reconstructing the true biography of the baptizer of the Irish is a highly complex problem with no definitive solution. However, this may not be so important: over the centuries, his legendary biography has been fully developed. The Irish believe that the noble young man did indeed return to lead the people out of the darkness of paganism, that his staff was given to him directly by Christ, and that it was Patrick who drove all the snakes from the island.
If Patrick Was Not Irish, Why Did He Become a Symbol of Ireland?
Because he baptized the Irish pagans into Christianity, Saint Patrick is celebrated. According to the “Confession,” the enslaved Patrick was visited by an angel who instructed him to flee Ireland; a ship awaited him on the seashore, ready to sail to Gaul. The angel was sent by God, who wanted the young man to baptize the Irish, and so Patrick later returned to the island.
There, he preached Christianity, fought against pagan kings and druid priests, and also against the teachings of the British theologian Pelagius, whose doctrine (actually a heresy) had spread widely throughout the country. Pelagianism was condemned at the Council of 418, and in 431, Pope Celestine sent Bishop Palladius to Ireland to bring Irish Christians back into the fold of the Catholic Church. Thus, Thomas O’Rahilly also believed that Patrick and Palladius were one and the same person. In any case, Patrick, an outsider, is given the role of savior of the people, the deliverer from darkness and other woes.
When Did This Day Become a Popular Holiday?
This occurred around the mid-18th century, but not in Ireland—in America, where many Irish immigrants began to actively celebrate this day. Before that, St. Patrick’s death date—March 17—was commemorated only in narrow church circles. In 1761-1762, parades were held in several cities, and since then, St. Patrick’s Day has been celebrated by Irish immigrants not only in the U.S. but also in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and even Argentina.
In Ireland itself, which was still part of the United Kingdom at the time, St. Patrick’s Day did not become a national holiday and public holiday until 1903. The first parade in honor of St. Patrick’s Day took place in Dublin in 1931, ten years after the country gained independence. In the 1990s, a true advertising campaign began to promote St. Patrick’s Day. The tradition of drinking dark, heavy, strong beer on this day was also imposed from above (in the past, pubs in Ireland were closed on March 17 to reduce drinking). Who exactly came up with all of this is unknown, but the description “talented marketer” fits quite well.
What Did Patrick Himself Say About Drinking?
This is unknown. The medieval historian Dorothy Bray, in her “Motif Index of Early Irish Saints’ Lives,” writes that Patrick turned water into wine, referring to the three-part life of St. Patrick—Vita Tripartita. However, the text describes a somewhat different incident: the young Patrick once scooped water from a river with a jug and turned it into honey, which miraculously cured all diseases.
So, there is no definitive answer to the question of St. Patrick’s attitude toward drinking. On the other hand, St. Brigid not only brewed beer in large quantities and generously shared it with everyone, but she also miraculously accelerated its fermentation, reducing a process that took several days to just one hour.
Why Is Patrick Associated With Clovers and Leprechauns?
Almost all Christian holidays are linked to days that were once venerated by pagans. There is an Irish proverb that can be roughly translated as “Like a salmon in the middle of a stream, so is Patrick’s Day in the middle of spring.” Indeed, for the Irish, spring begins on February 1st, on St. Brigid’s Day, when daylight hours noticeably increase. Thus, March 17th falls in the middle of spring, marking the turn toward warmth and light.
The clover is an ancient symbol associated with sun worship. A stylized depiction of a three-leaf clover can be found in Ireland on the walls of the so-called Newgrange—a sacred site built about five thousand years ago. To avoid abandoning the ancient symbol, the Irish reinterpreted it: a legend emerged that St. Patrick used the three leaves on a single stem to explain the doctrine of the Trinity. As for leprechauns, they are forest dwellers who come to people on warm days.
What Kind of Preacher and Writer Was Patrick?
During the years he spent in slavery among the Irish, Patrick learned the local customs well; later, when he became a preacher, he acted quite skillfully. There are legends about Patrick’s competitions with local druids, whom he rightly saw as the main enemies of Christianity. Once, on a summer day, the druids covered the fields with snow. Everyone was amazed by their power. But Patrick ordered the snow to be removed because the crops would die. “The snow will melt on its own,” the druids replied. Then Patrick blessed the fields, and the snow disappeared.
Another time, the druids milked a bucket of milk from a bull. Again, everyone was amazed. Patrick blessed the bucket, and everyone saw that it was not milk but slime and blood. The bull was lying down, dying. Patrick poured the bucket over the bull’s back, and it came back to life. In other words, St. Patrick constantly demonstrated his superiority over local magicians, and his preaching was not philosophical but visual.
The most famous text by Patrick is the Latin “Confession,” in which he tells the story of his life. Here we suddenly see a man tormented by all sorts of reproaches, suspicions of theft, vanity, and so on. He constantly has to justify himself. According to the “Confession,” his enemies were not only druids and pagan kings but also local scholars, Christians, and scribes, for whom Patrick was an outsider.
In the “Confession,” Patrick recounts that in his youth, while still in Britain, he committed some sin and told a close friend about it. That friend then spread the news to everyone around! Therefore, Patrick repents for something that perhaps no one would have ever known about. What that sin was is unknown: it could have been participation in pagan rites, possibly sex, or maybe he stole pears like Saint Augustine. In any case, the mention of a youthful sin is not accidental; it is a mandatory episode in the genre of confession.
Is This Day Associated With Popular Culture, or Did Joyce Also Respect Patrick?
It’s likely that Joyce had no particular fondness for St. Patrick, given his generally poor opinion of the Church and his preference for his creation, Bloomsday—the day of Bloom, the hero of his novel Ulysses (1922)—over St. Patrick’s Day. Moreover, St. Patrick’s Day should not be considered a popular holiday; as mentioned earlier, it is not a folk holiday but rather a celebration imposed from above, not rooted in the people’s tradition.
What Places of Veneration for St. Patrick Exist in Modern Ireland?
First of all, there is Armagh—a monastery in Northern Ireland that, according to legend, was founded by Saint Patrick in 444. Of course, later legends and traditions have influenced this story. After receiving land from the local ruler to establish the monastery, Patrick is said to have waited for a sign indicating the exact location. The sign came: Patrick saw a mortally wounded fawn that suddenly came to life and stood up. This made it clear that the site was no ordinary place but a special one.
Another place of veneration is the town of Downpatrick, where, according to one tradition, Patrick’s grave is located. There is also a tradition of climbing Croagh Patrick in Northern Ireland, where the saint is said to have tended sheep (although there is no exact information confirming this happened there).
In general, folklore easily attaches the label “Patrick was here” to any interesting place. Let’s name two more, though there are many. One is Struell Wells in Northern Ireland. Even in pagan times, these were sacred springs, and Patrick realized that he could not forbid people from venerating these waters. So, he decided to consecrate them: for three consecutive nights, Patrick lay naked in the icy water, singing psalms. He would then briefly get out, sit on a stone chair, doze off, and once again immerse himself in the icy water.
For a long time, this place was a pilgrimage site; it was believed that visiting the spring and sitting on St. Patrick’s chair—a strangely shaped piece of rock—could heal the sick. Interestingly, the peak of the pilgrimage is not on March 17th but on June 21st, the pagan day of the summer solstice. This tradition dates back to ancient times, when it was customary to visit the sacred spring on this day.
Another site is the monastery and castle of Cashel in the province of Munster. There is a stone slab there on which, according to legend, Patrick baptized King Aengus. The saint accidentally pierced the king’s foot with the end of his staff, and the stone was stained with blood, traces of which are still visible today. During the ritual, Patrick was looking into the king’s eyes and did not notice that he had wounded him. Later, Patrick asked Aengus, “Why didn’t you say you were bleeding?” The king replied, “I thought it was part of the ritual.”
How Is Saint Patrick Typically Depicted?
The earliest depictions of Saint Patrick date back to the 10th–11th centuries, seen in bas-reliefs on monastery walls. By this time, a distinctive canon for portraying Saint Patrick had already been established: he is depicted wearing a bishop’s tiara and always holding a staff, which, according to legend, was given to him directly by Christ.
Sometimes, a defeated snake is shown at his feet. Later, another style of depiction emerged, which did not replace but rather complemented the earlier one: a young Patrick, with his characteristic staff, sitting on a stone among sheep. Over time, humorous figurines of various sizes also appeared, sold around March 17th; in these, Patrick resembles Santa Claus, with a large beard, a kind face, and still holding his staff.
