St Patrick's Day 2017

It's St Patrick's Day today – or St Paddy's Day, as it is sometimes more colloquially known. In Britain, it's notably a day when revellers wear fake ginger beards and over-sized green top hats to work, before retiring early to the pub for a pint (or several) of thick, dark Irish stout. 
But do you know who St Patrick was? Or how other countries celebrate the day? Let's find out!

The first thing you should know about St Patrick is that he is not technically a Saint – he was never canonised by the church. Nor was he born Irish. Nor was his name Patrick! So who was he?

The generally accepted theory is that Paddy was born in Scotland and named Maewyn Succat, with Patricius being his Romanicised name – this was later shortened to Patrick.

You may have heard the legend that St Paddy drove all the snakes out of Ireland. Whilst it's a good story, this does not seem to be true. Patrick was taken to Ireland as a slave, and during six years of slavery he worked as a shepherd and became a devout Christian. Later in life, he devoted his days to spreading the word of his faith, and converted many of Ireland's Pagans to Christianity. 

He died on 17th March 461AD, and that date has been celebrated as St Patrick's Day ever since.

St Patrick's Day is celebrated all over the world... and beyond – having even been observed on the International Space Station in 2011!

In Rome the Colosseum glows green...

In Chigaco, the famous Chicago River is dyed green...

In fact, green monuments seem to be a trend worldwide...

We will be celebrating St Patrick's Day at Gandey, along with our Irish friends and colleagues who work on our various shows.

Are you doing anything special for St Patrick's Day?