No, but seriously.
First of all, the snake thing is malarkey. St. Patrick did nothing with snakes. St. Patrick was the enlightener of Ireland, and his feast day (March 17th) is celebrated because of this. Did you know St. Patrick wasn't even Irish? It's true! He was a Welshman! Ireland became his home after being kidnapped and sold into slavery at 16. He was there, doing the whole slave thing, for about six years, until he escaped. Then he became a Christian, entered the priesthood, and headed over to Ireland to do missionary work. Cuz Ireland is awesome, and anyone who goes just HAS to go back!
St. Patrick's Day celebrations in the good ol' US of A date back to the 1700s. Were you aware that George Washington [yes, THAT one] gave the Irish troops in the continental army a holiday on March 17th, to show solidarity with the Irish in THEIR fight for independence. Since, y'know, we ALL hated the British at that point.
Thus endeth the lesson! Go get drunk!
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