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I'm Roger Bassing.
And I'm Liz Waid.
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Every year on March 17, the city of Chicago in the United States does something unusual.
They change the color of the river that runs through the city.
They use food coloring to turn the water green.
They use about 18 kilograms of this vegetable-based dye for the water.
They do this to celebrate an Irish saint, Saint Patrick.
Many St.
Patrick's Day celebrations involve a lot of food and drinks.
Some of the food and drinks are green, too.
Another tradition is to wear green.
And if you do not, someone may just pinch you.
They may pull a little bit of your skin between two fingers.
But Chicago is only one place that celebrates St.
Patrick.
People in cities and countries around the world celebrate him.
But who is St.
Patrick and why do people celebrate him on March 17th every year?
Today's Spotlight is on St.
Patrick and his holiday.
St.
Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland.
He is known for his religious work on that island.
Historical church documents tell us some things about his life.
But he also recorded his life, and his passion for his Christian faith, in his letters.
St.
Patrick was born in Britain around the year 386.
At this time, the Roman Empire in Britain was ending.
Violent groups from Ireland invaded the land.
They stole land, money, animals, objects, and even people.
When Patrick was 16, people from Ireland raided his family's home.
They took Patrick. and held him as a slave.
He was kept in Ireland for six years.
There he worked as a shepherd and spent most of his time out in the fields caring for sheep.
Patrick wrote in his letters that he depended on God when he felt lonely or afraid.
After being held for six years, Patrick escaped.
In his letters, he writes that he had a strange dream.
In the dream, he heard the voice of God telling him to leave.
So Patrick left.
He walked almost 322 kilometres toward the Irish coast.
There, he was able to get on a ship to Britain and return to his family.
In Britain, Patrick studied to become a Christian priest.
He lived with other religious men, as a monk.
But then, Patrick's writings say that he had another dream, this time from an angel.
This angel told Patrick to go back to Ireland.
Historical records show that Patrick did return to Ireland.
There, Patrick shared Christianity with the people.
Because Patrick had lived in Ireland for many years, he knew the language and the people.
He combined old Irish customs and traditions with the new message about the Christian faith.
He did this to help the native people keep their own culture.
For example, Patrick invented traditions to honor the Easter holiday.
Easter is one of the most important Christian holidays.
But the Irish did not celebrate Easter.
The Irish worshipped other gods.
And they worshipped their gods with fire.
St.
Patrick used fire in his Easter celebrations.
He used these ideas to explain the new religion.
This also honored the local culture.
He also added a circle to the common Christian cross.
This became the Celtic Cross, or the Cross of Ireland.
The circle was the symbol of the sun.
The sun was a powerful Irish symbol for many people.
Patrick combined the circle and cross.
This showed that Jesus was like the sun.
St.
Patrick is also closely connected to the green shamrock plant.
It has three leaves.
It is often used as a symbol of Ireland.
Some stories suggest that St.
Patrick used this plant to teach people the Christian idea of the Trinity.
That God is three, but also one.
But just how did the world start celebrating St.
Patrick's Day on March 17th every year?
That is because March 17th is the anniversary of St.
Patrick's death.
He died on that day in the year 461.
The Irish have celebrated this day for over a thousand years.
Traditionally, people attended a religious service early in the day.
Then they returned home to eat, drink, and dance.
As Irish people moved to other countries, the traditions went with them.
The first St.
Patrick's Day parade was in New York City in the United States in the year 1762.
Irish soldiers were serving in the English military there.
They marched through the streets.
This parade helped the soldiers feel a sense of their national culture.
They celebrated the parade with Irish symbols, music and food.
One of the most popular instruments used in these parades were bagpipes.
In the 17 and 18 hundreds, large groups of Irish immigrants moved to the United States.
This spread St.
Patrick's Day celebrations to many communities there.
But the United States and Ireland are not the only places that celebrate this holiday.
People in Canada, Australia, South Africa, Argentina, Japan, and Russia all celebrate St.
Patrick's Day.
People have even celebrated this day on the International Space Station.
But the biggest celebrations today are in Ireland.
It has been a public holiday there since 1903.
Today, in the city of Dublin, about one million people take part in St Patrick's Festival.
This celebration is five days long.
It includes parades, music, dancing, outdoor plays, fireworks and more.
In the past, St.
Patrick's Day was mainly a religious celebration.
Until the 1970s, Irish law even said that the bars must be closed on March 17th.
But now, in most places, it is more a celebration of Ireland and Irish culture.
But no matter why you celebrate, make sure to wear green on March 17th, or you may get pinched.
Do people celebrate St.
Patrick's Day where you live?
Do you?
What people from history does your culture celebrate?
You can leave a comment on our website.
Or email us at radio at radioenglish.net.
You can also comment on Facebook at Facebook.com slash Spotlight Radio.
The writers of this program were Aaron Lehman and Adam Navis.
The producer was Michio Ozaki.
The voices you heard were from the United States.
All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight.
You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at www.radioenglish.net.
This program is called St.
Patrick's Day, a celebration of Irish culture.
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We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program.
Goodbye.
