Saint Patrick’s Day, March 17th, believed to be the anniversary of the death of St. Patrick; the Patron Saint of Ireland and is celebrated worldwide as a feast day, by both Irish people and increasingly by many of non-Irish descent. It is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland and in the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and widely celebrated elsewhere, though not an official holiday. Celebrations generally include all things green and Irish including Irish and/or green foods, indulging in Irish drink, particularly Guinness, and attending parades. The longest running parade in Canada is in Montreal: where the parade has been tradition since 1824 though St. Paddy’s day has been celebrated there since 1759.
As the legend goes Patrick drove all the snakes from Ireland sometime back in the fifth century. The story states he stood atop a hill and used a staff to herd the scaled creatures into the sea, banishing them for eternity. Yes, it’s true that other then in zoo’s and those held as pets Ireland has no snakes, evidence shows there never were any snakes in Ireland to begin with!
This interesting piece of trivia has more to do with geography than any snake whispering. Ancient snake fossils are found only on southern continents and any chance of snakes heading north, to Ireland, during prehistoric times, wasn’t possible as the island was completely under water. Now snakes are found in deserts, grasslands, forests, mountains, and even oceans virtually everywhere in the world. Everywhere except Ireland, New Zealand, Iceland, Greenland, and Antarctica, that is.
One suggestion is that snakes referred to the serpent symbols used in pagan worship; which St. Patrick is also credited for banishing from Ireland. But who was St. Patrick?
As a boy of sixteen he was captured by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Ireland, where he lived for six years before escaping and returning to his family. He entered the church, as his father and grandfather had before him, becoming a deacon and a bishop. He later returned to Ireland as a missionary, working in the north and west of the island, but little is known about his actual activities nor can he be tied to specific churches.
Though we may not all be of actual Irish decent “Everyone’s Irish on March 17th”at least according to a sign written on a beam in the Guinness storehouse!
