In many cities, St. Patrick´s Day is celebrated with parades, dances, and festive dinners. People greet each other with good wishes and often send cards to each other. Many stores are filled with green decorations and cakes and candies are often decorated with the colour green. Some restaurants and pubs even sell green beer!
St. Patrick was born at the end of the 4th century in Britain. When he was 16, he was kidnapped from his home by a group of Irish pirates and taken to Ireland. There, he was sold as a slave and had to work for the next six years as a shepherd. When Patrick was living in Ireland as a slave, he had a very lonely life and he turned to religion for comfort. After six long years of slavery, at the age of 22, he escaped to France and began to study the Bible. Later he became a priest and decided to return to Ireland to convert the people to Christianity. He was a brave man and people admired him. He travelled all over the country setting up schools and churches for the Irish people. He also worked very hard to develop a strong national spirit in the country.
There are many stories about him. The most famous one is that he drove all the snakes out of Ireland. That is why there aren´t any snakes in Ireland today.
He died on March 17th, 461. Ever since his death, March 17th has been celebrated as St. Patrick´s Day. It is an important day for the Irish because it celebrates the conversion of Ireland to Christianity. Nowadays, it is also a special day to celebrate one´s Irish traditions and to have fun.
