When you think of St. Patrickʻs Day the first thing that comes to mind is probably a four-leaf clover,  leprechaun’s, chocolate gold coins, and cookies covered in green sprinkles. Lets forget all that and educate ourselves about the real history behind St. Patrickʻs Day. The reason itʻs on March 17th is because it is the Feast Day of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. He was born is Banna Venta Berniae which is a town in Roman Britain during the late 300s A.D. His birth name was actually Maewyn Succat but he wanted to be know as Patricius later in life. His Feast Day is held on the day of his death which is said to be on March 17, 461 A.D.

Patrick converted to Christianity at the age of 16 after being captured by Irish pirates and enslaved for six years as a shepherd. After that he was captured by the French and started to learn about monasticism. He then found his way back to Britain and continued to study Christianity into his late twenties. Patrick then proclaimed he had a vision that instructed him to bring Christianity to the Irish people who at the time were pagan and druidic. During his time in Ireland he baptized some 100,000 people, ordained new priests, guided woman to nunhood, converted the sons of kings, and helped in the information of over 300 churches.

St. Patrick was never officially canonized by the Catholic Church, he is just very well known throughout the Christian world. The actual St. Patrickʻs Day started in the 17th century as a time to remember the life St. Patrick and his coming of Christianity in Ireland. In the 18th century Irish immigrants brought the tradition over to American colonies where it started to become symbol as we all know today. The first ever St. Patrickʻs Day parade was held in Boston in the year 1737. Also in 1903 his Feast Day became a national holiday in Ireland and formed into what is known now as St. Patrickʻs Day. Hopefully when you think of St. Patrickʻs Day now youʻll have a better appreciation after understnading the history of how it came to be. 

https://lifehacker.com/the-real-history-of-st-patrick-s-day-1793354674