Posted by Sheri C. on 3/17/2009, 3:35 pm
71.94.130.117
If you ask most people who Saint Patrick was, many will say he was an Irishman who chased the snakes out of Ireland. It may interest you to learn that:
• the real Saint Patrick wasn't actually Irish.
• Patrick was born to a middle class family in Scotland or Wales about 390 A.D.
• his real name is thought to have been Maewyn Succat--he did not take the name Patrick until after he became a priest.
• although raised in a religious home, he did not believe in God in his early days.
• he didn't chase snakes out of Ireland because there never were any on the island in the first place, due to the cold environment. (Note: It is thought that the legend of driving the serpents away was a euphemism for driving out the religion of the Druids and other pagans.
• he was born to a middle class family in Scotland or Wales about 390 A.D.
• his home was attacked by Irish raiders and he was captured, taken to Ireland and sold to an Irish king who made him become a shepherd.
• at 16 he escaped by walking 200 miles to the Irish coast and boarding a ship back home.
• entered a monastery in France, became priest and then bishop
• 30 years after escaping Ireland he returned in 432 or 433 AD. And, as they say, the rest is history, folks!
HAPPY PADDY’S DAY!
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