Who was St. Patrick and why do the Irish celebrate him? We went to The History Channel to find out, and have shared a few of their videos on the subject below.
The first thing you need to know is that St. Patrick was not Irish. He was British, and he was kidnapped by Irish raiders during the fall of the Western Roman Empire. After a decade of slavery, Patrick escaped, came back to Britain and became a priest. But a dream called him back to Ireland, where he drove out the “snake” of paganism and converted the island to Christianity.
Green was not Patrick’s color. According to The History Channel, there is a color called St. Patrick’s Blue. The green describes the isle itself and, of course, the shamrock, which Patrick is said to have used to teach the trinity.
Enjoy the short videos below. You can find a plethora of short, interesting historic videos at TheHistoryChannel.com.
History of St. Patrick’s Day
Who was St. Patrick?
Why green?
Where do Leprechauns come from??
