Friday, I gave information about his life but today, we'll look at myths and facts about his life that have grown since his death. Some of these facts were mentioned Friday but not all and I'm going into more detail.1. Patrick was not Irish. He was born in Britain and lived there until he was 16. It was after that point that he lived in Ireland. He began converting the Irish to Christianity but he was not the first one there to do it. There were some Christians in Ireland before he arrived.
2. Although it is believed that you must wear green on Saint Patricks day, the original color for him was blue. In 1793, the Order of Saint Patrick was founded. They needed to choose a color to make them stand out, they chose blue because dark green was already taken.
3. Saint Patrick is credited with driving the snakes out of Ireland and into the sea but it appears snakes never inhabited Ireland. The icy sea surrounding the country would automatically discourage them from coming to the island and it appears snakes never crossed the land bridge before it disappeared. It has been suggested the snakes represented those who were not Christian and who were encouraged to leave or convert.
4. Saint Patrick was never canonized by the Pope so his title is more of a gesture such as Elvis being referred to as a "King". Often times, people were given the title of saint in the early days if they were seen as doing extraordinary work or they were martyred for their faith. Officially elevating someone to sainthood came later.
5. Saint Patrick was captured with many of his neighbors, taken to Ireland and sold as a slave. He spent six years herding sheep in the west of Ireland.
6. While herding sheep, he'd pray multiple times a day to God and one day he heard a voice telling him to board his ship. He listened to the voice and made his way to a ship waiting on the east coast of Ireland.
7. The captain of the ship, didn't like the looks of him, so he asked Patrick to undergo a ritual acknowledging his authority. Patrick refused and then tried to convert the crew because neither the captain nor the crew were Christian. Even with this happening, the captain still took him aboard.
8. There is no mention in early literature of Patrick using a shamrock to explain the trinity. This story appeared in 1684, when an English visitor mentioned the Irish chewing shamrocks to sweeten their breaths. He also noted they wore shamrocks and few were sober on any night.
9. Something Patrick did in his early life, came back to haunt him in later years. He mentions this in his writing but never actually identifies what he did. He only says, he'd already confessed to it when he was young.
10. Supposedly, we celebrate the day of his birth but the saints day is usually the day of their death. In all the literature on Patrick, there is no mention of the date of his death so no one is sure how this date was chosen.
There are more misconceptions out there. These are only 10 of the ones floating out in the world. Let me know what you think. I hope you had a great St. Patricks day.
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