Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17th to honor Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It is celebrated by Irish people and those of Irish descent through wearing green, eating Irish food and drinking, and attending parades and pubs. Saint Patrick was a Christian missionary who lived in Ireland for six years after being captured and enslaved there as a teenager, before escaping and later returning to convert the Irish to Christianity. Symbols of Saint Patrick's Day include the shamrock and the Celtic cross, which incorporated traditional Irish symbols with Christianity. Parades are held worldwide on Saint Patrick's Day, with the largest in New York City watched by over 2 million people.

2. Is the feast day that is celebrating in honor of Saint Patrick, on March 17. Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated by Irish people and by many of non-Irish descent. It is celebrated by wearing green, eating Irish food, imbibing Irish drink, and attending parades and pubs.

3. Saint Patrick was a Christian missionary and is considered the patron saint of Ireland. Patrick was born in Roman Britain. When he was about sixteen he was captured by Irish invader and taken as a slave to Ireland, where he lived for six years before escaping and returning to his family Who was St. Patrick?

4. Who was St. Patrick? Patrick studied religious for more than fifteen years. After his ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland with a dual mission-to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish. St. Patrick died on March 17, circa 462.

5. The Symbols "Shamrock" is a common clover native to Ireland. It is a symbol and Irish emblem because St. Patrick used it to illustrate the dogma of the Trinity. The Trinity is the idea that God is really three-in-one: The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. He told them that just as the shamrock is one leaf with three parts, God is one entity with three Persons.

6. The Symbols The leprechaun, is an Irish, bad-tempered, “small-bodied old man” of Celtic folklore. He is often dressed like a shoemaker. According to legend, leprechauns are aloof and unfriendly. They live alone, and pass the time making shoes. They also have a hidden pot of gold!

7. The Symbols The Celtic Cross When Patrick went back to Ireland to convert the Irish to Christianity, he didn't try to make the Irish forget their old beliefs. He combined their old beliefs with the new beliefs. One example of this is the Celtic Cross. Saint Patrick added the sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross, so that the new symbol of Christianity would be more natural to the Irish.

8. The Symbols People say that during his mission in Ireland, St. Patrick once stood on a hilltop (which is now called Croagh Patrick), and with only a wooden staff by his side, banished all the snakes from Ireland. In fact, the island never had any snakes. The "banishing of the snakes" was a metaphor for the eradication of pagan ideology from Ireland and the triumph of Christianity. In two hundred years, Ireland was completely Christianized.

9. The rules of Lent are ignored and revelers traditionally eat Irish bacon and cabbage. The Traditions Christians attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon, although pubs in Ireland were closed on March 17 by law until 1995.

10. The Traditions The Chicago River has been dyed green every year since 1962. The first St. Patty’s Day parade occurred when Irish soldiers in the British army marched through New York City on March 17, 1762.

11. The Parade The largest parade is in New York City and it is watched by 2 million spectators. Ireland's cities all hold their own parades and festivals. In many parts of the world, Irish descent, and people with no Irish connections but who may declare themselves "Irish for a day" also celebrate St. Patrick's Day, usually by drinking alcoholic beverages (lager dyed green, Irish beer or Irish Whiskey, Irish Cider, Irish Coffee or Baileys Irish Cream) and by wearing at least one green piece of clothing.

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13. The Parade

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