Saint Patrick's Day is a time to feast with loved ones while simultaneously pinching them for not wearing green. While you are busy eating corned beef and cabbage, you may sit there and wonder why you are celebrating some random saint from many years ago. You may think, "Who exactly is Saint Patrick? What did he do? Why is he important? Why do we wear green? Why are shamrocks plastered in every store window and Saint Patrick's Day decoration? Who celebrates this holiday?" Luckily, this article will tell you everything you need to know about who exactly Saint Patrick was and how his life impacts this national holiday.

1. Saint Patrick was not Irish.

In the late 300s AD, Saint Patrick was born in Banna Venta Berniae, which is a town in Roman Britain. While close to Ireland, Saint Patrick is not a native Irishman.

2. His real name is not Patrick.

Saint Patrick's real name was Maewyn Succat. He also went by Magonus, Succetus, and Cothirthiacus before settling on Patricius.

3. Saint Patrick was not a Christian in his early years.

Despite his father Calpurnius being a Christian deacon, Patrick didn't start to believe in Christianity until he was enslaved at 16 by Irish pirates for six years as a shepherd. This is the moment when Patrick began to learn the culture and language of Ireland.

4. Saint Patrick kept getting captured by different countries.

As stated above, Patrick was captured by Irish pirates. He then tried to escape back to his homeland, but he was then captured by the French. In France, Patrick learned about monasticism. He was eventually released, but his time spent captured led him to continue studying Christianities.

5. Saint Patrick was not originally welcomed to Ireland.

At the time, Ireland was mainly druidic and pagan. Patrick had a vision to spread Christianity to the masses in Ireland, so he started to pack his bags and head towards there. He was not welcomed by the mainland, so he started small by converting small islands on the Irish coast, then making his way inward.

6. Patrick did not try to ban snakes from Ireland.

Some people believe that Patrick banished snakes from Ireland. In reality, snakes have never existed on Ireland.

7. He may have used the shamrock to teach the holy trinity.

The Irish love the number 3; they had triple deities and always thought it was a nice number, so Patrick used this to his advantage to teach the Holy Trinity: The Father, The Son, and the Holy Ghost.

8. He's technically not an official saint in the Catholic church.

Patrick is known as Saint Patrick throughout the world, but he was never officially a canonized saint in the Catholic Church.

9. St. Patrick's Day celebrates his arrival in Ireland to spread Christianity.

On March 17, 461 AD, Patrick went to Ireland to spread the word of Christianity. This significant moment is important in Irish history since it marks when the Irish switched from pagan religions to the beginning of Catholicism.

10. It's celebrated in many countries, not just Ireland.

The United States celebrates Saint Patrick's day due to the mass immigration of the Irish during the Great Famine. Since the Irish spread to countries such as Great Britain, Canada, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Russia, and Asia, Saint Patrick's day is celebrated there as well.

11. Saint Patrick's day color used to be blue.

Before the Irish Rebellion, the color used to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day was blue. During the Irish Rebellion, Irish soldiers sang "The Wearing of the Green" while wearing green when fighting off the British, and this led to green being the main Irish color. It was a coincidence that shamrocks were also green to match with the uniforms, so now it has been engraved in Irish culture.

12. Drinking alcohol on Saint Patrick's Day used to be frowned upon.

Originally, Saint Patrick's Day was a break for Christians from their Lent practices. However, everything was allowed except alcohol, which was frowned upon to drink before Easter. Then, Budweiser decided that people were allowed to drink beer on Saint Patrick's Day by promoting a huge marketing campaign. Everyone then accepted that alcohol could be consumed on Saint Patrick's Day.

All information found from LifeHacker.com.