Of Holidays: St Patrick's Day

St Patrick's Day (March 17th) is probably the most recognized of the many Feast Days, followed closely by St Valentine's Day.  This was a day set aside to commemorate an individual who was instrumental in spreading the good news of Salvation to an, as yet, untapped area of the world, Ireland.  Though it is, as in many cases, quite unique how God brought about this occurrence.  St Patrick was born in 387 AD to a rich family living on the island of Brittania (England) back when it was still controlled by the Romans.  When he was about 16 years old he was abducted by Irish raiders and taken into captivity in Ireland.  According to his Confession he had a dream where God told him to escape from his captivity and go back to Brittania.  He successfully escaped and eventually made it a monastery in Gaul (France) where he studied to become a priest.  In 432 he had another dream where God told him to go back to Ireland and spread the Gospel to the Pagan, Polytheistic, people living there.  One noteable aspect of St Patrick's teaching methods was to use the shamrock (clover) to explain the Trinity.

Of Holidays: Feast Days...

Feast Days are those in which the Catholic Church, whether it is a local congregation or the Vatican itself, set aside to commemorate those who made significant contributions to the growth of the church, especially during its most formative years.  Many were martyrs and the like and the day on which their feast falls corresponds with either their date of birth, or more routinely, the day they died.  But should we as Christians celebrate these feast days.