There once was a nobleman in Roman Britain around 400AD who had been kidnapped by pirates as a slave at the age of 16. His name and descent are well known, which is why I won’t tell you that right now, but figure it out yourself! This man has become a patron, or an icon, of his country for having brought Christianity, mainly Catholicism, to this certain country. His death is believed to be on a certain date, which I cannot name just yet. For over a century this has been spoken of as a religious holiday, because of the previous named reason. It is also believed that this man would speak of the Holy Trinity that we know as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, by using the three leaves of a shamrock, a native green plant of this certain country I am speaking of. This is also one of the reasons that we are currently celebrating this holiday. Holiday, by the way, stems from the word holy day, referring to a special religious celebration. The first record of the celebration of this holiday would be around the ninth or tenth century, back when it was a simple Roman Catholic feast day. However, its famous parades that we know of nowadays, was first recorded to have taken place in America, in 1601 in a Spanish Colony, and not in its origin country. Fast forward to 1772, the time of the Civil War in America: Homesick soldiers of this country would march around New York City, to honor this particular patron saint. This sparked a lot of interest and enthusiasm for parades across the country. The parade flourished, becoming famous all over the world, having 3 million visitors in the USA alone. Nowadays the holiday is to celebrate this heritage, thinking about the millions of immigrants who escaped the country due to a massive potato famine to escape starvation. The immigrants took to the streets year after year and the Americans called them crazy, drunk and violent monkeys because of how wild they were acting on this particular day. It didn’t take long for the Americans to realize that this ‘green wave’ of people were also a great political influence, but that’s another story. The green shamrock, you know, the plant I mentioned before, became a mascot for the people, coloring cities green, sometimes quite literally. Chicago even has taken it as far as dying the Chicago river green for just several hours. Maybe you’ve seen pictures of it already, because it isn’t just a simple and recent phenomenon. And did you know? This boy, who escaped this country at 16 or 17, who later came back to speak of the word of the Lord, is now celebrated worldwide. Not only in English-speaking countries, but in nearly every country you can think of that has descendants of this boy’s country. It grew from a religious festivity, to a wide spread holiday, full of joy, celebration of culture and inclusivity. Who and what am I talking about? Nobleman: a man who belongs by rank, title, or birth to the aristocracy Descent: the origin or background of a person in terms of family or nationality To stem (stems): the root or main part of a word (holiday holy day) Parade: a public event, celebrating a special day or event Patron saint: the protecting or guiding saint of a person or place To flourish (flourished): develop rapidly and successfully. Phenomenon: a remarkable person or thing Inclusive (inclusivity): not excluding any of the parties or groups involved in something. 本文来源：https://www.wddqw.com/doc/dfd28ed712a6f524ccbff121dd36a32d7275c759.html