Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated each year on March 17th, the day that it is believed that he died. In Ireland, Saint Patrick’s Day is both a holy day and a national holiday. The real St. Patrick wasn't 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. Patrick professed no interest in Christianity as a young boy. At 16, Patrick's world turned....

He was kidnapped and sent overseas to tend sheep as a slave in the chilly, mountainous countryside of Ireland for seven years. It was a terrible time for him but it was during this time that he was converted to christianity. Although it began in Ireland, Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated in countries around the world. People with Irish heritage remind themselves of the beautiful green countryside of Ireland by wearing green and taking part in the festivities.

Saint Patrick’s Day is usually celebrated with a parade. The one in Dublin, Ireland is known to some as the Irish Mardi Gras. But the one in New York City is actually one of the biggest. It lasts for hours. Two Irish wolfhounds, the mascots of the New York National Guard infantry regiment the “Fighting 69th”, always lead the parade. More than one hundred bands and a hundred thousand marchers follow the wolfhounds in the parade.