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PICTURE OF THE WEEK: St. Patrick's Day

Every year on March 17, Ireland and many other countries throughout the world celebrate St. Patrick's Day. St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and March 17 is the day the Irish celebrate his religious feast day. It is also the anniversary of his death.

St. Patrick is one of the most widely recognized Christian figures. At age 16 he was taken from his family in Britain and sent to work in captivity in Ireland. For more than six years he worked as a shepherd in the northwest of Ireland. Some people dispute the location of his captivity.

While he was being held captive, St. Patrick became a devout Catholic. According to the tale, God spoke to him in a dream and told him he had to leave Ireland. He escaped his captors and walked nearly 200 miles to the Irish coast. From there he succeeded in his quest to return to his native Britain. After escaping to Britain, Patrick had another revelation from God. God told him to return to Ireland to spread Christianity to the Irish. And so he did.

St. Patrick is associated with many stories, including the very famous story of how he drove all the snakes from Ireland.

The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place in the United States in 1762 when Irish soldiers in the English army took to the streets of New York. This year, on St. Patrick's Day, more than 500,000 people lined the streets of Dublin, Ireland's capital city, to watch a parade of over 3,000 participants. The parade included 17 international marching bands, 10 theatrical pageants from all over the country, stilt walkers, Irish dancers and more.

--Written by Olivia Overman

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