As the 17th of March has come and gone for another year, the world celebrated the annual cultural and religious celebration known as Saint Patrick’s Day.

Saint Patrick, whom the holiday celebrates, is the patron saint of Ireland. Born during the 5th century, he was an ignorant and mischievous man who brought considerable trouble to his hometown. Although he was captured by pirates due to his bellicose attitude and experienced torment and dread at their hands, he converted to Christianity after experiencing visions from the Lord and former saints, eventually crediting his escape to their guidance.

A changed man, Saint Patrick became a missionary to Ireland, replacing the traditional polytheistic beliefs of the Celts in favor of Christianity’s tenets. Armed with a staff, resembling the likes of Moses, and wielding the shamrock, a three-leafed plant, his inspiration would give rise to the earliest practitioners of Christianity in Ireland. His fame grew along with the number of legends depicting him as a folk hero: removing snakes with his drum, gifted with shamrocks that would grow on any part of the earth he walked, and even speaking to the ancient ancestors of the land.

Saint Patrick became a mascot for Christianity and the Irish people. The more he traveled, the more villages began to hold traditions in his honor. Some of these customs range from dances to public musical and theatrical performances, from banquets to the wearing of green clothing. These traditions were so popular and well-received that they would survive into our modern-age today.

Although his death was not documented and cannot be officially known, the 17th of March (believed to be the date of his death) started as a celebration of his feast day and now is an international holiday. Many different cultures around the world hold different practices and customs on this day, but almost all recognize the celebration as an homage to him.