Sabreea Bouslimi, Contributor
Saint Patrick's day brings images of green parades, McDonald's shamrock shakes, and four-leaf clovers to mind, but the holiday holds a lot more meaning than just that. The traditional colour for saint patricks day actually used to be blue, not even green! The holiday has changed so much since its start nearly 1000 years ago.
Saint Patrick was a Roman Christian missionary and bishop. March 17th marks Saint Patrick's death. At 16, he was kidnapped and enslaved. Saint Patrick escaped but then returned to Ireland to convert the masses to christianity. During his life he created many monasteries, churches, and schools. By the time of his death he had many legends surrounding him, many of which contain the symbolism we now associate with the holiday.
Saint Patrick's day was a religious holiday until immigrants in the United States made it into a fun holiday that celebrates all things “Irish”. The first Saint Patrick's day parade was held in Boston, Massachusetts in 1737. The holiday has blossomed into something huge and largely commercial since then.
The traditional green colour of the holiday started during the irish rebellion from the English. Prior to that, the colour for the holiday was a sky blue due to that being the colour that “Saint Patrick’s Order” wore back in the day. The Saint Patrick's order still exists today, and the members still wear sky-blue robes. Despite that, the iconic colour for Saint Patricks day will likely never be anything except green, ever again.