Day of Week Month. Day, 2012 El Camino College Union 3FEATURES

St. Patrick’s Daymyth bustersmyth busters

Carina GomezStaff Writer

It’s Saturday night and hundreds of people across the country are devouring corn beef and cabbage while clapping their hands to the

beat of the Irish jig blarring from the jukebox.Shamrocks and leprechauns adorn the pub’s

walls and patrons are decked out from head to toe in shades of green.

It’s St. Patrick’s Day!Annually, March 17 is a day to commemorate the

life and death of St. Patrick, the “patron saint” of Ireland, according to the website www.st-patricks-day.com.

“Every saint has its feast day, and St. Patrick’s Day is the feast day of St. Patrick,” Blair Gibson, anthropology professor, said.

And St. Patrick’s Day is the most highly an-ticipated and celebrated saints day throughout the world.

St. Patrick, who was born during the 4th century in Great Britian, was a national apostle of Ireland and according to the website www.st-patricks-day.com, he is said to have brought Christianity to the country.

“St. Patrick became the most important saint of Ireland after he was associated with the seat of the Catholic church in Ireland,” Gibson said.

However, most people celebrating this holiday don’t know who St. Patrick was or why he is being honored.

“I celebrate it for the fun of it, if you have Irish in you, you will obviously celebrate your patron saint, but if you don’t like me, you just celebrate for fun.” Carlos Dieguez, 31, fi nance major, said.

And as a result, myths and legends formed.After busting a few of these myths, the origin of

the holiday was revealed and the real traditions as-sociated with St. Patrick were discovered.

So here is the truth behind St. Patrick’s Day.

Myth #2: St. Patrick drove snakes out of Ireland.

The legend says St. Patrick drove snakes out of Ireland, however snakes weren’t native to the country, according to the website www.historynews-network.com. So it is safe to say St. Patrick didn’t have any run-ins with snakes.

Myth #1: Cornbeef and cab-bage is a traditional Irish dish.

Actually, St. Patrick’s Day, which is a Ireland’s Independence Day, is cel-ebrated by eating fried bacon, cabbage and a side of praties—or potatoes—which is a traditional according to the website www.historynewsnetwork. Rather, cornbeef was just the staple dish for Irish immigrants in the U.S.

Myth #3: The St. Patrick’s Day parade originated in Ireland.

The St. Patrick’s Day parade actually started in Manhattan, New York in the beginning of the 18th century, according to the website riverdeep.net. It was a way for Irish immigrants to stay connected to their roots. The parade is now a tradition that was adopted by many cities throughout the U.S.

Myth #4: Leprechauns are traditional symbols of St. Patrick’s Day.

While leprechauns are symbolic to Irish heritage, they do not have any association with St. Patrick or the holiday itself. Instead, according to the website History News Network, leprechauns were grumpy shoemakers who worked for Irish fairies and guarded their treasures. It was the Irish American culture that turned leprechauns into cute little elves.

Myth #5: Green represents St. Patrick’s Day.

Wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day is the most common myth followed by people who celebrate the holiday. But green wasn’t al-ways the traditional color of St. Patrick’s Day; it was blue. According to the website www.englishzone.com, green started being worn in the 19th century, which was inspired by the landscape of the country.

Myth #6: Shamrocks are a symbol of Christianity.

Many people believed St. Patrick used the shamrock leaves to demon-strate the holy trinity— the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit. But ac-cording to the website www.historynewsnetwork.com, it suggests that the shamrock came from a Celtic tradition, which started many years before St. Patrick. Istead, the shamrock was used as a metaphor to describe “faith in your soul.” And today, the shamrock remains a symbol of the Ireland.