Today, March 15th, is two days before St. Patrick's Day. You know, the day everyone wears green? People wave Irish flags. There's shamrocks in every window. You see big St. Patrick's Day parades. Every bedtime story consists of leprechauns. In today's post, we're going to look at the history of St. Patrick's Day and its Christian roots. Yes, it's true. Once upon a time, St. Patrick's Day was a Christian holiday. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's back up a bit. First, we need to know a bit about our dear friend, St. Patrick.Patrick was born in A.D. 387 to a rich Romano-British family. Patrick's father was a deacon in the Roman Church, like Patrick's grandfather. When Patrick was 16, he was kidnapped by Irish bandits and was taken as a slave to Ireland. Patrick worked as a slave for 6 years. He was able to escape and return home to his family in Britain. Patrick joined the Roman Church and eventually became ordained as a bishop. He then returned to Ireland where Patrick worked hard as the first bishop to Irish Christians. He preached to the rich and poor alike. He is remembered for his mission to Ireland. His death date is widely accepted as March 17.
Patrick became a saint in the Catholic, Lutheran, Orthodox, and Anglican churches. Thanks to the strong influence in the 1600's of scholar Luke Wadding, Patrick's work was celebrated with a feast day in the Catholic church which eventually became known as St. Patrick's Day. In 1904, it became an official public holiday in Ireland. It is now celebrated all over the world.
St. Patrick was a saint. That got me thinking. Why isn't there a St. Jaquelle's Day? After all, I am a saint. No really, it's true! And if you're a Christian, you're a saint too, according to Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:2: "To God's church at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus and called as saints." So, everyone who is part of God's family (Christians) are saints.
So, what would St. Jaquelle's Day look like ...pink and green decorations, gifts of kittens (hint, hint Dad), coffee cake and Caramilk ice-cream, a good book, and of course no school.....