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Issue date: 3/11/08 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Christopher Bengtsson [Click to enlarge]

St. Patrick's Day is upon us again and already you can see the shelves of stores filling with novelty items consumers can't resist purchasing to help them celebrate the upcoming holiday. If you ask the typical American why we celebrate St. Patrick's Day, you'll probably receive an answer involving green beer, thieving leprechauns, and hypothetical pots of gold that exist at the end of rainbows.

However, while the holiday may evoke a newfound pride of Irish heritage in even the unlikeliest of folk, like most of our holidays, it lost much of its original meaning in the Hallmark takeover of the 20th century. Once again we have forgotten the true reason that we commemorate the life of a historical figure, and have turned the holiday into another excuse to indulge in our three loves: drinking, eating and spending.

Historically, St. Patrick's Day is the religious holiday that honors the life of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. The day is celebrated on March 17, which is believed to be the traditional day of his ceremonial feasting and the date of his death. For 30 years, he spent his life guided by visions of God on a religious mission through Ireland to spread Christianity and convert the people from their traditional pagan beliefs.

Although the day originated as a religious holiday and remains a religious observance in Ireland, it became publicly recognized with the Irish Bank Holiday act of 1903.

Saint Patrick's influence on Ireland as a nation was more than religious and he made his mark on the traditional Irish folklore that has been passed down for centuries.

Though there is some speculation as to the origin of many of the stories involving the saint, it is believed that his appreciation for the native Irish beliefs led to his incorporation of rituals and iconic symbols into his teachings of Christianity. He is responsible for the creation of what we now call the Celtic cross, which is what resulted from his superimposing of a sun onto a traditional Christian cross. He did this to incorporate the historically powerful Irish sun symbol into the transitioning religion.

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