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St.Patrick's Day
By Zoe Hargis
The widely celebrated holiday known as St. Patrick's Day, has been celebrated for over 1,000 years. A holiday put on in honor of the patron saint, St. Patrick, who is said to be responsible for bringing Christianity to the people of Ireland. St. Patrick was born and raised in Britain. When he was 16 years old, he was kidnapped by Irish Martyrs. These Martyrs brought him to Ireland, where he later was able to escape from. After he escaped he had a vision that told him to go back to Ireland and spread the word of Christianity.
This Holiday is not only celebrated in Ireland, but it is also celebrated around the world. A few of the following countries Japan, Russia, Australia, and Canada celebrates this holiday. Here in the United States, we celebrate this festive day. It is only logical, because 34.7 million U.S. residents claim to have Irish ancestry.
Cities like Chicago and New York also like to celebrate their heritage, and the story of Saint Patrick. The dying of the Chicago river is a famous tradition done in Chicago. There is 45 pounds of green vegetable dye color dumped into the river. This event attracts thousand of people dressed in green from head to toe. Another St. Patty's day celebration is up north in New York. This event is the St. Patrick's Day parade. This parade has been going on since 1762 as the first recorded St. Patrick's Day parade in New York.
Although St. Patricks Day is celebrated all across the world, it is also celebrated here at Badin. These are a few of the traditions students that go here participate in to show their irish spirit. Ashlyn Hillman, a tenth grader here at Badin, remembers, “setting up shoe boxes to catch the leprechauns” when she was in grade school. While this is a strategic trick to catch the little green jumping guys, she never had much luck. However, she was always left notes stating that the leprechauns were once there. Other students here believe that they are, “basically a leprechaun,” spoken by Colin Crank, a Badin sophomore. While most people interviewed said they had some Irish decent, but don’t participate in anything special or out of ordinary, these same students always remember to wear green and show there St. Patrick's Day pride.
The Myths and Legends of St. Patrick’s Day
By Ashlyn Hillman
There are many misconceptions about St. Patrick’s Day. For example, green wasn't always the color involved with this day. The color that was associated with Saint Patrick's day was actually blue. The reason the color changed was because of the green in the Irish flag. Another factor that influenced the change of color was Ireland’s nickname, the “Emerald Isle.” Did you know, St. Patrick wasn't even Irish, he was Roman? He was born in the Empire of Rome, was kidnapped, and then became a slave in Ireland.
Many people believe that St. Patrick is the reason that Christianity thrives in Ireland. However, Christianity was already taught in Ireland before St. Patrick was brought to the country. Another common misconception is that St. Patrick’s name is Patrick. “St. Patrick’s” real name is Maewyn Succat, which means white in Welsh, and in English it means friend. His name was changed because his birth name was so uncommon. It was changed to Patricus when he became a slave.
Many people still believe in these misconceptions. A quiz was taken by students and staff to see what they knew about St Patrick. The results weren't pretty. Sophomore and staff member, Leah Krause, got a 1 out of 5 on the quiz. The next person interviewed was Mrs. Suedcamp, who received a 2 out of 5. The last person interviewed, sophomore Sydney Rawlings, had the highest score of 3 out of 5. Everyone knows the story of St. Patrick. We’ve heard them our whole lives. So the question is, do you still believe in these myths?
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