The man now known as SAINT PATRICK was born with the name Patricius (Latin for "noble") in what is now Great Britain, circa 387 CE. When Patrick was about 14 years old, he was captured off the coast by Irish raiders. Patrick was kept as a SLAVE in Ireland for six years before his escape. As a slave, Patrick prayed and promised that if he gained his freedom, he would return to Ireland to CONVERT the Irish PAGANS to CHRISTIANITY.

Patrick kept his word. Back in Britain, Patrick became an ordained bishop. He returned to Ireland and worked to convert the Irish people to Christianity. Many MIRACLES are attributed to Patrick. He is credited with "driving the SNAKES from Ireland." In reality, there were never snakes in Ireland, and the story stems from a serpent- or worm-centered religious cult that Patrick helped to eradicate.

Patrick is even more famous for using the three-leaved SHAMROCK to explain the Christian concept of the TRINITY. This is the religious idea that Christianity is MONOTHEISTIC (rather than polytheistic) because the father (God), son (Jesus), and holy spirit are three parts of a single deity (God).

Patrick died on March 17, 493 CE. Within a few centuries, he was widely accepted as a PATRON SAINT of Ireland.

As Irish EMIGRANTS left Ireland for destinations around the world, they brought their culture—and stories of Saint Patrick—with them.

The first St. Patrick's Day PARADE in the United States took place in BOSTON, Massachusetts, in 1737. The world's largest St. Patrick's Day parade is held each year in NEW YORK CITY.

Although St. Patrick's Day is technically a religious holiday, it has come to be a SECULAR CELEBRATION of Irish CULTURE and HERITAGE. In line with the Irish tradition of HOSPITALITY and friendliness, everyone is invited to be "IRISH FOR A DAY."  This "WEARING OF THE GREEN" can mean anything from a shamrock on one's lapel, to items of green-colored clothing, to dressing up as a mythological LEPRECHAUN.