I didn't. Well, there was a bit of green on the bottom of my sandal. And I didn't drink any Irish beer today, didn't pin a shamrock to my shirt, and I didn't say any words with an Irish brogue. But I did do some searching on the person Saint Patrick, and on the background to the festive St. Patrick's Day.
Saint Patrick was born in Britain to a Christian family, was captured and enslaved by Irish raiders, and herded their sheep in the wild crags for six years or so. He had a vision from God, he then escaped back to his home, where he then had another vision to return to the land of his oppressors and introduce them to Christianity. After much training he returned and had great success in spreading the gospel of Christ to the Irish noblemen as well as peasants and slaves.
Pretty much a good guy.
Saint Patrick was born in Britain to a Christian family, was captured and enslaved by Irish raiders, and herded their sheep in the wild crags for six years or so. He had a vision from God, he then escaped back to his home, where he then had another vision to return to the land of his oppressors and introduce them to Christianity. After much training he returned and had great success in spreading the gospel of Christ to the Irish noblemen as well as peasants and slaves.
Pretty much a good guy.
And if you read any of the material I've linked to below, you'll realize that historians quibble over all sorts of dates, and cast doubt on anything you'd like to think of as a "fact". Try to look past that... :)
If you care:
Who Was Saint Patrick - History.com
Saint Patrick - Wikipedia.com
St. Patrick's Day - Wikipedia.com
An interesting semi-historical novel on the life of Patrick, read the book by Stephen R. Lawhead.
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