Boston - The American Birthplace of St. Patrick's Day...

The actual person who later became known as St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, was a man named Maewyn. Born in Wales about 385 AD, some say that he was raised a "pagan" as where most of those around him at the time. At age 16, he was sold into slavery by a group of Irish marauders that had raided his village. It was during his captivity that he became a Christian. After six years, he escaped and went to Gaul where he studied in the monastery under St. Germain, bishop of Auxerre for twelve years and there adopted the name Patrick. His desire to return to Ireland and convert the pagans to Christianity was realized two years later when he was appointed the second bishop to Ireland. Not everyone appreciated his success at winning converts. He was arrested several times by the Celtic Druids, but managed to escape each time. Traveling across the country for the next thirty years, he established monasteries, schools, and churches and gained many converts until he retired to County Down. He died on March 17, 461 AD. Although much of the folklore surrounding St. Patrick is undoubtedly exaggeration, the shamrock as an icon of the day stems from his use of the three-leafed plant to show how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. The St. Patrick's Day custom first came to America in 1737 and was publicly celebrated first in Boston and has since become a part of American culture.

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