Ok...Just who is St. Patrick and what is this day all about really.  Is it for the food?  Or the drink?  Lets look at the ral St. Patrick and what this day id all about.

The following is from the book St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography

The real St. Patrick wasn't even Irish. He was born in Britain around A.D. 390 to an aristocratic Christian family with a townhouse, a country villa, and plenty of slaves.

At 16, Patrick's world turned upside-down: He was kidnapped and sent overseas to tend sheep as a slave in the chilly, mountainous countryside of Ireland for seven years. He underwent a religious conversion while he was there and became a very deeply believing Christian.

According to folklore, a voice came to Patrick in his dreams, telling him to escape. He found passage on a pirate ship back to Britain, where he was reunited with his family. The voice then told him to go back to Ireland.

Patrick got ordained as a priest from a bishop, and went back and spent the rest of his life trying to convert the Irish to Christianity.

Patrick's work in Ireland was tough -- he was constantly beaten by thugs, harassed by the Irish royalty, and admonished by his British superiors. After he died on March 17, 461, Patrick was largely forgotten.

But slowly, mythology grew around Patrick, and centuries later he was honored as the patron saint of Ireland.

According to St. Patrick's Day lore, Patrick used the three leaves of a shamrock to explain the Christian holy trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Another St. Patrick myth is the claim that he banished snakes from Ireland. It's true no snakes exist on the island today, Freeman said — but they never did. Ireland, after all, is surrounded by icy ocean waters -- much too cold to allow snakes to migrate from Britain or anywhere else.

Until the 1970s, St. Patrick's Day in Ireland was a minor religious holiday. A priest would acknowledge the feast day, and families would celebrate with a big meal, but that was about it.

Sometime in the 19th century, as St. Patrick's Day parades were flourishing, wearing the color green became a show of commitment to Ireland.

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