While wearing green and swigging back a pint or two at the tavern are nice gestures towards the Irish celebration of St. Patrick's Day, there is actually a real story behind the day.

To get further insight on the holiday, which I am ashamed to admit I don't know much about even though I am Irish, I consulted with my father on the issue.

He happens to come from the same county (Meath) where Saint Patrick is said to have lit a pascal fire on the Hill of Slane as a symbol of Christianity on the predominantly pagan isle. Apparently the King of Ireland at the time didn't feel the fire was very safe and demanded St. Patrick put it out.

Saint Patrick, who brought the new religion to Ireland during the fifth century Anno Domini, wasn't a leprechaun and didn't drink green beer, contrary to bar room legends.

“He heard a voice calling him back into Ireland and calling him to preach the faith,” as my father puts it.

The traditional green garb worn on St. Paddy's day was likely derived from Patrick's use of the shamrock in his preaching.

Patrick found the three-leaf clover to be an effective way at explaining the Holy Trinity – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - to pre-Christian Irish men and women.

From then on, the shamrock became known as an Irish symbol, and its colour, which Ireland also happens to possess a lot of in its landscape, also came to represent things Irish.

Speaking of leaves, the Toronto Maple Leafs were originally the Toronto St. Patricks and wore green. I wonder if it is a coincidence that they changed to blue. Blue was originally associated with St. Patrick before green.

The Irish have celebrated St. Paddy's since before the 1600s and the Catholic Church recognized it as a feast day and incorporated it into the liturgical calendar in the early 1600s.

Now, not only does Ireland celebrate St. Patrick's Day, the whole world does, but it has deviated from its religious roots and apparently just become an excuse for people to drink and wear green hats.

You could probably walk through the downtown of the major cities across the North American continent and find yourself amongst bag pipers and giant floats. The St. Patrick's Day parade has become a very popular modern tradition.

What you probably won't find, at least at the parades in Ireland, are snakes. So if there are no snakes in Ireland, it begs the question; what were the snakes that St. Patrick allegedly drove out from the Emerald Isle?

— John O'Connor