St Patrick’s Day 2023: Who is the patron saint of Ireland, when is St Patrick’s Day, why do we celebrate St Patrick’s Day and is it a national holiday?

St Patrick’s Day is also known as the Feast of Saint Patrick, which is a cultural and religious celebration held in March to commemorate the life and death of the patron saint of Ireland. The celebration has existed for four thousand years and is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion and Eastern Orthodox Church and the Lutheran Church.

Events usually involve public parades and festivals, cèilidh, and wearing of green attire or shamrocks. Christians who belong to liturgical denominations also attend church masses and traditionally, the Lent restrictions and fasts, on eating and drinking alcohol, were lifted for the day.

St Patrick’s Day is widely celebrated in the US, UK, Canada, Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, especially amongst the Irish diaspora. Modern celebrations have been particularly influenced by those of the Irish diaspora, especially those that developed in North America.

When is St Patrick’s Day?

The Irish holiday is observed on March 17 every year, the day the patron saint of Ireland allegedly died.

This year the day will fall on a Friday kicking off the weekend.

Who is St Patrick, patron saint of Ireland?

Saint Patrick was a fifth century Romano-British Christian missionary and Bishop in Ireland; most of the information known about the saint comes from the Confessio, which was supposedly written by Patrick himself.

He is believed to be born in Roman Britain in the fourth century, to a wealthy Romano-British family; his father was a deacon and his grandfather was a priest in the Christian church.

According to the Confessio, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Gaelic Ireland when he was 16 years old. The document says that Patrick was told by God to flee to the coast, where a ship would be waiting for him to take him home.

The traumatic experience allegedly led him to become a priest and according to tradition, Patrick returned to Ireland to convert the pagan Irish to Christianity. The Confessio says that he spent many years converting in the northern half of Ireland and converted thousands.

Over time, Patrick’s efforts were turned into literature and poems which describe him driving ‘snakes’ out of Ireland, despite the fact that snakes were not known to occupy the region.

According to tradition, Saint Patrick, bishop, Christian missionary and apostle of Ireland, died at Saul, Downpatrick, County Down, Ireland on March 17, 467 AD.

Why do we celebrate St Patrick’s Day?

The day marks the arrival of Christianity in Ireland and celebrates the Irish heritage and culture in general.

St Patrick’s Day was first celebrated as a holiday in the 17th century and until the 20th century, Saint Patrick’s Day was often a bigger observance among the diaspora than it was in Ireland.

Is St Patrick’s Day a public holiday in the UK?

St Patrick’s Day is not a public holiday in England, Wales or Scotland; schools, shops, businesses and other companies are open as usual in these three parts of the UK.

However, it is recognised as a holiday in the Republic of Ireland and a bank holiday in Northern Ireland.