Given the name of the holiday, it might seem obvious that Saint Patrick was Christian, but most people associate it with celebrating Irish culture, rather than Catholicism. Truth be told, that’s not where it began. Saint Patrick was a prominent bishop and missionary in Ireland near the end of the Roman empire in the mid to late 5th century AD.
Known as the Patron Saint Of Ireland and the Apostle Of Ireland, Patrick was instrumental in bringing the Roman Catholic beliefs to Ireland and in subsequent years, Saint Patrick’s Day became a day to commemorate Catholicism in Ireland. Originally, it was a day of feasting and celebration held every year on the day of St. Patrick’s death, although until the 1700s, the holiday didn’t exist in any formal capacity.
Over the years, there has been a great deal of mythologizing of St. Patrick in history.
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