Happy St. Patrick's Day!
In the Greek New Testament, the word "saint"appears frequently. But it refers to something other than the spiritual elite.It's the term New Testament authors used to refer to all who believe in Jesusas the Christ. The word "saint" means "holy one," that is,one who is "set apart." Protestants point to this fact whenexplaining why they don't typically talk about "St. Paul" and"St. Peter." We tend to call them simply Paul and Peter. Or theapostles Paul and Peter.
But that doesn't mean we Protestants dislike St. Valentine,St. Patrick, St. Catherine and the rest of those referred to as"Saints" with a capital "S." In fact some of these people lived longbefore the Reformation, when all of us were united. St. Patrick is one of thesefrom the distant past.
At one time only Ireland celebrated their patron saint andobserved his day. After all, he brought the Irish the gospel, and they weregrateful.
But when Irish immigrants came to the U.S. , they broughttheir celebration with them. In the 1700's, they held the first St. Patrick'sDay Parade in New York City, (where you can also find the beautiful St.Patrick's Cathedral). And the tradition has certainly gained momentum throughthe years. In typical American fashion,we have turned the day into a drunk-fest.
People in Ireland don't tend to party as wildly over theirsaint's day as we do here. They do, however, wink and pass along the legendthat wearing green works like an invisibility cloak on leprechauns' vision,making it so the little folks can't see humans and thus pinch us.
If you wear a color other than green today and somebodypinches you, feel free to ask, "Seriously? You're a leprechaun? Who knew?But...aren't you a little tall for that?"