Symbols and Secrets of St. Patrick’s Day

I remember when in elementary school, the kids would wear green on St. Patrick’s Day to avoid getting pinched. The teacher would give us a coloring page with shamrocks, leprechauns, pots of gold, and rainbows. Lucky Charms is a popular cereal, especially amongst children. And “Luck” and “wish” are common words in our everyday vernacular. We practice(d) all these activities without a further thought; accepting St. Patrick’s day and its elements as part of the culture. But should we know the truth about its inception, would we still look at it the same way? While St. Patrick’s Day seems like a harmless holiday, primarily observed by the Irish, it’s a holiday steeped in darkness and evil symbols.

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Who is St. Patrick?

St. Patrick is the primary saint in Ireland who lived in the 300s AD. His real name was Maewyn Succat, an English by birth. As a 16-year-old, he was kidnapped by Irish pirates and taken to Ireland as a slave where he remained for 6 years. Later, he escaped and returned to England. He went on to become a priest and was sent to Ireland by the pope as a missionary. Maewyn was then given the name “Patrick.” At the time, Ireland was populated by Celtic polytheists but Patrick was successful in driving the pagans away and “converting” the Irish to Christianity. For this reason, St. Patrick is known as the “Apostle of Ireland” and the founder of Christianity in Ireland.

Symbols

Shamrocks

Although the three leaf clover was created by God, the Celts gave it a pagan meaning. Each leaf is represented by the crone, mother, and virgin. This is a neopagan deity called the Triple Goddess which symbolizes the female life cycle and also the phases of the moon. Each one ruled a realm: earth, underworld, and heaven.

Many people (including some Christians) believe the leaves signify: faith, hope, and charity. St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Trinity to the Celts. But beware, that we should not mix what is Holy with paganism! Patrick’s missionary efforts were so successful because he mixed pagan beliefs with Christianity (which is not surprising, given that all holidays are mixtures of paganism with Christianity thanks to the Catholic Church). Therefore, the Celts believed the shamrock contained magical powers.

 

 

 

Leprechauns

According to Celtic folklore, Leprechauns were male fairies. They were mainly depicted as small old men, dressed in red (later changed to green) with a hat, and black buckled shoes. Supposedly, they were wealthy shoemakers who hid their gold. If a human caught a Leprechaun, they were forced to reveal the location of their hidden treasure and grant them three wishes. Many believed that Leprechauns were sly and would trick humans.

Luck

Luck or Fortuna is a Roman pagan deity. She is a goddess counterpart of the Greek goddess Tyche.There are many aspects of Fortuna but I will only discuss a couple. Fortuna is associated with Fortuna Annonia who is the “Luck of the harvest.” Fortuna Primigenia was the fortune of a firstborn child at the moment of birth. Fortuna Virgo is the luck of the virgin. And Fortuna Publica was believed to bring luck to the people.

There is also Rota Fortunae (Wheel of Fortune, and yes, the game show got its name from her). But this wheel was not like the one used in the game show to win prizes but was actually a torture device in the middle ages. The wheel brought success to some and misfortune to others when spun.

Pagans believed that good luck was obtained by doing certain rituals including: prayers, spells, and sacrifices.

The pagan deity “Luck” or “Fortuna” can be traced to the Canaanite deity of Gad, also known as Baal.

“But you who forsake the Lord,  who forget my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny.” Isaiah 65:11 (ESV)

 

Putting Tradition Aside

St. Patrick’s Day is a pagan holiday with evil symbols leading to Satan the deceiver. As with the other holidays, Christians should leave behind all its customs, beliefs, and even words (“good luck” and “wish). As children of God, who are supposed to be different and the light of this world, we need to be cleansed from ALL forms of paganism.

“Learn not the way of the nations…”  (Jeremiah 10:2a)

Pagans created gods of gold, but today, gods are created more subtly, in customs, culture, symbols, and celebrations. We must ask God for discernment that we may not fall into the sly traps of the enemy. Unbeknownst to many, pagan worship is part of their everyday living because of cultural traditions.

“Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them” (Deuteronomy 11:16)

But God is faithful, in that He provides a way out from paganism if we diligently and genuinely seek purity.

God is so good to give us wisdom and spiritual discernment to escape the sin that is cleverly hidden in culture and tradition. But we must first be WILLING.

“Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; Whoever is discerning, let him know them For the ways of the LORD are right, And the righteous will walk in them, But transgressors will stumble in them.”  (Hosea 14:9)

The key is that we must be willing to be right with God rather than be right with man. We must be willing to love God above the desires of the flesh and all merriment that dishonors Him. Humans like their traditions, but traditions hardly ever glorify God. If anything, culture and traditions separate us from Abba. And this is something we need to leave behind for good. But oh, the reward is worth it!!

 

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