Get drunk by noon, all in the name of Saint Patrick

Most people think that St Patrick’s Day is just about green and beer (not to mention green beer). The truth is that most people, including me and the contributors of Wikipedia, have no idea what St Patrick’s Day is really all about. Is it the birthday of Guinness beer? Is it the celebration of leprechauns? Is it an excuse to drink (the answer to that is, of course, yes, but there is bound to be more to it). As always, we are here to enlighten you. Well, sort of.

Saint Patrick was the patron saint of Ireland – at least, the most famous patron saint of Ireland. There is also Brigid of Kildare (whose feast day is on February 1st) and Saint Columba (feast day June 9th). So the obvious question is, if there are actually 3 patron saints of Ireland, why does Saint Patrick get all the attention, not to mention the drinking in his name?

As most celebrations in our modern world, it comes back to the church. Naturally, Saint Patrick was made a saint by the Catholic Church. Saint Patrick’s Day was only celebrated as a religious holiday at first, until 1903 when it became a public holiday. Hurrah! Now every Irishman, atheist and devout alike could have a nice day in the Patron Saint’s name. For this, we thank a guy named O’Mara (fitting), but he wasn’t celebrated for long. In the same breath as he declared a public holiday in Saint Patrick’s name, he also declared that all pubs were to be closed on March 17th.

BOOOOOOOOO!

This insanity went on until 1970, when the decision was revoked and Irishmen and women could drink at their locals once again! Thus began the decline of the “religious” observance of Saint Patrick’s day, even though it is still to this day observed as a religious holiday in the Catholic Church.

That’s all interesting, but how the hell did we end up wearing green, pinching one another and drinking our faces off?!

Believe it or not, it didn’t really happen until the 1990′s, when some smart marketer decided that Saint Patrick’s day would be tied into Ireland’s national identity. The first official Saint Patrick’s Day celebration in Ireland wasn’t held until 1996.

1996!!!!!!!!!!!

So why do we celebrate it? Actually, in Canada it has been celebrated unofficially since 1759 thanks to some Irish soldiers in a Montreal garrison. I’m assuming they started celebrating and the Canucks thought it was so much fun that one thing led to another and voila! Canadians and Irish, slobbering drunk together. Kindred spirits are united.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the Leafs used to be the Toronto Saint Patricks. Why? No clue. (If you know, email me at mysterymaiden@shotinthedarkmysteries.com)

What’s up with the shamrock and the green clothes, beer and rivers?!

Saint Patrick is said to have used a shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish. Green is worn and used to represent this. The pinching? Well, maybe we just want an excuse to inflict pain on party-pooper friends and random strangers.

But why Saint Patrick? Why not our friend Brigid or Saint Columba?

Saint Columba looked like a pretty cool dude, but he was also a number of other things, including the Apostle of the Picts (who were either killed or converted before the vast majority of their fascinating culture could be shared, so a lot of their symbols, including the one tattooed on my back, are still a mystery). Perhaps pulling double duty prevented him from getting him his own worldwide drinking day – Jack of All Trades and all that…

Brigid of Kildare was associated with virginity – not exactly in line with the typical Saint Patrick’s day celebrateur’s intentions. We can only assume that’s what took her out of the running.

Some sources say that Saint Patrick banished snakes from Ireland (although rumour has it that some remain, disguised as cellular phone agents), others credit him with bringing Christianity to the Irish. And he did, of course, show them a shamrock to illustrate the confusing “Holy Trinity” thing… (Bono, if you ever want your own day, you’d better start taking notes, pal).

So, why do we celebrate the way we do? It’s all thanks to a very smart marketer, some drunken Irish soldiers in Canada and the fact that Ireland is, supposedly, snake-free. Is that enough of an excuse for you? Yeah, me too. So drink your green beer and pin on your shamrock – or you’re gonna get pinched – it’s the Irish thing to do.

Earth Hour is on March 26th. Why not pull together some friends to play a murder mystery in the dark? Try THE EARTH HOUR MURDER mini mystery party game, designed specifically for Earth Hour!