Rolling in His Grave

 Ahh Saint Patrick’s Day. For a school notorious for partying Saint Patrick’s Day should be the official holiday.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a town so littered with green, nor have I seen so many parties on one block. The mounted police were pretty impressive too. All in all it’s a pretty fun holiday with or without moderation. But after doing a little research on Saint Patty, I’m not so sure he would approve.

            First of all, Saint Patrick was a missionary. Most missionaries I know are not big condoners of excessive drinking.  Saint Patrick is credited for teaching the Irish about the holy trinity by using the shamrock. The 3 leafed clover was used as symbol to show how three parts can create a unified whole, like the holy trinity.   In legend Saint Patty was know to carry around a wood walking stick, and whenever he was evangelizing he would thrust it into the ground.  It was said in legend that in the town of Aspatria, the message of the good news took so long to get through to the people that the stick had taken root by the time he was ready to move on. He was also known for not taking donations for his babtisms and for ordaining priests.  

            There is another reason Saint Patty might not exactly be a fan of his own holdiay. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but there is something else that is celebrated on Saint Patricks day that is an intergral part of Saint Patrick’s day. The Irish. I don’t even know how many “Kiss me I’m Irish,” tee shirts I saw; and suddenly everyone felt the need to assert how much Irish they had in them. Shamrocks and lepracauns were all over the place. So whats the matter with that you say?  Why would Sain Patrick have a problem with that, you say?  Because Saint Patrick wasn’t even Irish! Saint Patty was born in Brittan and captured in an Irish raid, and taken back as a slave.  He lived there for six years and then escaped home to his family. After he entered the church he returned to Ireland as a missionary.

            So why is Saint Patty rolling in his grave? He is the patron saint of a country who made him a slave. To top that off, (if thats possible), he is celebrated with excessive drinking. Something I’m sure he preached against. He has become the symbol of Irish pride and an excuse to get plastered.  I guess that’s what you call Irony, or maybe, the luck of the Irish.