Ernst & Haas Management Co Blog

[caption id="attachment_949" align="aligncenter" width="194" caption="St. Patrick's Day honors a man that preached tirelessly throughout Ireland."][/caption] Before you go around pinching those not wearing green, maybe you should read up on St. Patrick and the history behind this green holiday! St. Patrick was a Christian missionary, bishop, and apostle of Ireland, and ironically enough, was born in Great Britain. At the age of 16, Patrick was captured and enslaved by Irish raiders. For the next six years, he worked as a herder in Ireland, turning to a deepening religious faith for comfort. Following the counsel of a voice he heard in a dream one night, Patrick escaped and found passage on a ship to Britain, where he was eventually reunited with his family and began training to become a priest. Once his training was complete, he returned to Ireland to minister to Christians already living there and to convert the Irish. Patrick passed away on March 17, 461 following 40 years of living in poverty, teaching, traveling, and working tirelessly. He was soon declared the patron saint of Ireland. Legend has it that St. Patrick baptized hundreds of people on a single day and used three-leafed clovers (more commonly known as the shamrock) to explain the Holy Trinity to the locals. Another popular legend states that St. Patrick once stood on a hilltop with only a wooden staff by his side and banished all snakes from Ireland. The island nation was never in fact home to any snakes, so it's come to pass that the "banishing of the snakes" was really a metaphor for the pagan ways St. Patrick drove out of Ireland. Celebrating St. Patrick and his life has become a world-wide holiday, especially in America. Enjoying meals of corned beef and cabbage didn't actually originate in Ireland, but rather in America. Though cabbage has long been an Irish food, corned beef only began to be associated with St. Patrick's Day at the turn of the century. Irish immigrants living on New York City's Lower East Side substituted corned beef for their traditional dish of Irish bacon to save money, a cheaper alternative learned from their Jewish neighbors. Cheerful, friendly leprechauns are also an American invention, as leprechauns were cranky souls responsible for mending the shoes of other fairies in Celtic folktales. They were also known for their trickery, which they often used to protect their much-fabled treasure. The first St. Patrick's Day parade even took place in America, when Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City in 1762. Today, more than 100 parades are held across the U.S. on St. Patrick's Day. The shamrock and Irish music, however, are deep-rooted in Irish history and tradition. At first, the shamrock symbolized the rebirth of Spring, but by the 17th century, the shamrock became a symbol of emerging Irish nationalism. As the English began to seize Irish land and make laws against the use of the Irish language and the practice of Catholicism, the Celts began to wear the shamrock as a symbol of their pride and heritage. Similarly, the Celts had an oral culture, where religion, legend and history were passed from one generation to another by way of stories and song. After being conquered by the English, the oppressed people of Ireland turned to music to help them remember important events and hold on to their heritage and history. And why so much green? Simply because the shamrock is green and because Ireland is beautifully covered in green. There's so much more that can be said about St. Patrick and this holiday, but the important thing to walk away with is to know that this man is worth celebrating!