Google’s latest Doodle is saluting St. Patrick’s Day with a nod to the rich history of Ireland and St. Patrick himself.
The Google Doodle, the work of Irish artist Ross Stewart, uses the ogham alphabet, Ireland’s oldest form of writing. The carvings on the “L” stone are meant to represent the letters of the ancient writing system, which was used roughly 1,600 years ago.
Ogham, of course, isn’t the only history associated with St. Patrick’s Day. Here are five things you probably didn’t know about St. Patrick, the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland.
1. St. Patrick wasn’t Irish
St. Patrick was born to wealthy parents in Britain, not Ireland, History.com says. He only came to Ireland at age 16, when he was captured by Irish raiders and taken back to the country against his will. St. Patrick began to turn to religion during his six years as a prisoner, History.com says. When he finally escaped, St. Patrick is said to have heard the voice of God telling him to leave Ireland — but after his return to Britain, he apparently had a second vision, this one telling him to return to Ireland as a missionary. It was only then that St. Patrick began his most famous work, spreading Christianity throughout Ireland.
2. St. Patrick died on March 17
St. Patrick’s Day, which takes place on March 17 each year, is a celebratory time marked by parties and festivals. But it’s actually observed to mark St. Patrick’s death — he is believed to have died on this day around 460 A.D., according to History.com.
3. St. Patrick has only two known writings
Although St. Patrick has quite the reputation — he’s often credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland, and his feast day is celebrated far beyond the country’s borders — he built it only on two short works, according to Brittanica. St. Patrick wrote a spiritual autobiography, Confessio, and Letter to Coroticus, which speaks out against British mistreatment of Irish Christians, according to Brittanica.
4. St. Patrick allegedly drove the snakes from Ireland
As legend has it, St. Patrick chased all of Ireland’s snakes into the sea in the fifth century A.D. But while Ireland really is snake-free to this day, St. Patrick probably isn’t to thank, National Geographic reports. It’s far more likely that the creatures never made it to the island nation in the first place.
5. St. Patrick used shamrocks to represent the Holy Trinity
Shamrocks are ubiquitous on St. Patrick’s Day — but they have a much richer history than you might know. St. Patrick first used them to illustrate the Holy Trinity, according to Brittanica, with the three-pronged plant meant to represent the idea of three aspects in one God.
Image copyright PACEMAKER Image caption Dancing in the streets of Belfast for St Patrick's Day
Thousands of people have taken part in festivities across the island of Ireland to celebrate its patron saint, St Patrick.
Whether participating in a parade or a party at home, people are marking the increasingly-global day in true Irish style.
The larger-scale events include a parade and free concert in Belfast.
Parades took place across NI including in Londonderry, Enniskellen, Downpatrick, Newry and Armagh.
Dublin's five-day festival includes a parade, which was led by Game of Thrones Star Liam Cunningham.
Image copyright Brian Lawless/PA Image caption Film star Mark Hamill enjoying St Patrick's Day celebrations in Dublin
The force was with this year's festival as it was overseen by its first international guest of honour, Mark Hamill - aka Luke Skywalker.
The actor was chosen because of his "special affinity" with Ireland, through his filming of Star Wars and family history.
Earning that pint
Belfast marked Saturday 17 March through the theme of Global Belfast.
The parade, featuring community groups, musicians and professional performers, kicked off from Royal Avenue at 11:30 GMT.
Image copyright Brendan Harkin Image caption Hundreds of people have gathered in Belfast to celebrate the festival
Hundreds of people took part in the parade, which travelled through Castle Junction and along Donegall Place before snaking its way around Belfast City Hall.
It returned along the same route and finished at Royal Avenue.
A concert, headlined by former JLS member Aston Merrygold, took place at Custom House Square.
Image copyright Philip Magowan Image caption A group taking part in the St Patrick's Day parade in Newry, County Down
As part of its spring festival, Féile an Phobail has been running a number of events both in the run up to and during St Patrick's Day.
In Downpatrick, thousands of people braved freezing conditions for the parade and visited St Patrick's grave, which is situated at Down Cathedral in the town.
Downpatrick celebrates a saint of its own
by Cormac Campbell, BBC News NI south-east correspondent
It may have been an extremely cold day in Downpatrick, but that didn't stop a steady stream of locals, visitors and pilgrims from making their way to the patron saint's grave before watching the parade down Market Street.
A giant St Patrick sat in the square and watched proceedings, as vintage cars, floats, dancers, pipers and performers entertained the crowds.
Image copyright Saint Patrick Centre Image caption The tallest St Patrick in the world? He's sitting outside the St Patrick Centre in Downpatrick
No fewer than three snow showers fell during the half-hour parade, which itself had a cast of hundreds. But the sun came out as the last float passed through the town centre.
Meanwhile, live music continued after the parade while music, prayer, arts and dance events were held in churches, the St Patrick's Centre and Down Museum.
Parades also took place in Armagh and Newry.
Gareth Wilson, the Lord Mayor of Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon, said the 12-day festival across Counties Armagh and Down was a success and that he was "delighted to have seen so many people come out to enjoy the numerous events".
Image copyright Press Eye Image caption An Irish wolfhound made an appearance at the St Patrick's Day parade in Armagh
In Enniskillen, St Patrick arrived by yacht, before taking a walk around the island town, accompanied by bands and performers.
Meanwhile, the Ulster American Folk Park near Omagh, County Tyrone, staged a re-enactment of a living wake to mark the day - a young man leaving for American on St Patrick's Day in the 1850s.
Image copyright RTÉ Image caption A giant snake made an appearance in Derry's St Patrick's Day parade - fortunately the man himself was on hand to banish it
Not everybody celebrated the patron saint by watching parades - some people got off to a healthy start this St Patrick's Day and participated in a 10k run in Belfast.
About 2,000 runners took part in the event which started early on Saturday morning.
Image copyright Darren Taggart Image caption Some enthusiastic runners started their St Patrick's Day celebrations by completing a 10k race which finished at Titanic Belfast
The St Patrick's Festival in Dublin runs from Thursday 15 March to Monday 19 March, and this year's theme is Home.
On Saturday - the day itself - there are a lot of green goings-on, including guided walks and plays, but the main draw is the parade which will start from Parnell Square at noon.
Image caption St Patrick arrived in Enniskillen by yacht for the St Patrick's Day festivities
St Patrick's Day has long been celebrated far beyond Irish shores but this year looks set to be the biggest greening to date.
More than 250 sites around the world have been taking part in Tourism Ireland's Global Greening.
Image copyright Tourism Ireland Image caption The United States embrace St Patrick's Day - this is the Centennial Wheel in Chicago
In addition to the big names - such as the Empire State Building and Sydney Opera House - there are some rather quirkier participants this year.
These include a blue whale skeleton, a lion statue made from recycled flip-flops and a lighthouse on a frozen Finnish lake.
The skeleton, called Hope, takes pride of place in the entrance to the Natural History Museum in London, while the lion lives in Kenya. The Wawa goose statue in Canada is also turning a shade of green.
When the greening initiative began nine years ago, just two landmarks took party - the Sydney Opera House and the Sky Tower in Auckland.
