March 17, 2007

Today In History: Saint Patrick Dies

Posted at: 11:13 pm by Timothy Haroutunian
Categories: History and Mythology

Saint Patrick

March 17, popularly known as St. Patrick’s Day, is believed to be his death date and is the date celebrated as his feast day. The day became a feast day in the universal church due to the influence of the Waterford-born Franciscan scholar Luke Wadding, as a member of the commission for the reform of the Breviary in the early part of the 17th century.

For most of Christianity’s first thousand years, canonisations were done on the diocesan or regional level. Relatively soon after the death of people considered to be very holy people, the local Church affirmed that they could be liturgically celebrated as saints. As a result, St. Patrick has never been formally canonised by a Pope, but he is still widely venerated in Ireland and elsewhere today.

St. Patrick is also venerated in the Orthodox Church, especially among English-speaking Orthodox Christians living in the United Kingdom and Ireland and in North America. There are even Orthodox icons dedicated to him.

St Patrick’s Day is celebrated by many people even those who are not Irish. It is primarily a time when college students go on Spring Break and drink. Even though Boston has the longest running celebration, the parade in New York City is the biggest celebration. The River is dyed green with Fluorescein for the celebration in Chicago.
Clovers

The longest-running Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations in the U.S. are:

* Boston, Massachusetts, since 1737
* New York City, since 1756
* Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since 1771
* Morristown, New Jersey, since 1780
* Buffalo, New York, since 1811
* Savannah, Georgia, since 1813
* Carbondale, Pennsylvania, since 1833
* Chicago, Illinois, since 1843
* New Haven, Connecticut, since 1845
* San Francisco, California, since 1852
* Scranton, Pennsylvania, since 1862
* Cleveland, Ohio, since 1867
* Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, since 1869
* Kansas City, Missouri, since 1873
* Butte, Montana, since 1882

On a side note, Irish Boston based band “Drop Kick Murphys” will be the headlining act for the Plymouth State University Spring Fling celebration on May 5, 2007

history, Patrick, saint, saint Patrick, saint Patrick’s day, today, saint Patrick’s day

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