What's behind celebrating Irish culture on St. Patrick's Day? Here's every detail you should know

St. Patrick’s Day is being celebrated today, March 17, to honor Irish culture through parades and cultural events.

St. Patrick’s Day has a centuries-old history, when Christians in Ireland during the ninth and 10th centuries started commemorating a feast day for St. Patrick during Lent.

St. Patrick’s Day parades, which is the buzzing feature of this day, were considered to have emerged from the U.S.

As per Ireland.com, an Irish government’s official tourism portal, the first parade was organized by Irish emigrants in Boston in 1737.

In the early nineteenth century, the first parade in Ireland was held in Waterford in 1903.

During the celebration time, U.S. cities hold St. Patrick’s Day parades and days-long festivals, including parades held throughout Ireland.

Let’s find out all the buzz surrounding St. Patrick's Day.

Who was Saint Patrick?

St. Patrick is honored as the patron saint of Ireland because he is widely recognized for introducing Christianity to the country.

In fact, although he is called Saint Patrick, he was never declared a saint but received the title through widespread public acclaim.

Patrick was born in the late fourth century A.D. in Great Britain. Upon his return to Great Britain, after spending six years in captivity, he was a changed man.

Patrick embarked on religious studies, a pursuit that spanned more than 15 years after an angel told him in a dream to return to Ireland as a missionary.

Patrick then started his mission to bring Christianity to Ireland about 432 AD, as per the details available with the Saint Patrick Centre situated in Downpatrick, Ireland.

The Center is adjacent to Down Cathedral which is the final resting place of Saint Patrick upon his demise in 461 AD.

Why is St. Patrick’s Day observed on March 17?

St. Patrick is widely believed to have died on March 17, around AD 460, according to History.com.

Therefore, March 17 became a holiday in the mid-17th century when Luke Wadding added St. Patrick’s Day to Rome’s liturgical calendar, as per the details available on National Catholic Reporter.

While people back home began observing the feast day to commemorate St. Patrick over 1,000 years ago, parades were the permanent features before the Irish nation won its independence from Great Britain.

The first official New York City parade was held on March 17, 1766, according to the Library of Congress, even so, an unofficial parade occurred as early as 1762.