Show I 1 rahe ell 3 ua 41 41 ud u D HE personage ft host natal day is celebrated with such enthusiasm by our irish citizens was unquestionably the brightest luminary that adorned the emerild emerald isle tor for by his almost bercu lean labors he rescued that land from paganism some uncertainty exists as to the date and place of patrick s birth the most reliable historians however concur in the belief that he was born about the year bear in the british roman province of valentia Val entla at a place near the clyde not far from the modern D im barton called from him kilpatrick about the year he lie began his missionary work of converting the pagans of ireland to christianity it is said that during his stay in the island he founded churches bap sized with his own hands more than 1200 persons and ordained a great number u ber of priests he e died about the bear ear at a place ballel saul near downpatrick Down patrick and his rel cs es were preserved at that place till the time of the defor mation it is but natural that the land chica produced a ep fingal and an Os sian should abound in legends of the great mis who taught 1 11 the christian re ligion to the irish P pagans agans stories some of which are surrounded w th an atmosphere of beauty oeners that are wild and ridic ulous his ills explanation of the trinity to his hearers whose simple minds could not conceive of the existence of three in one was timely and sati satis stac fac tory plucking a stem of the sham rock from the earth at bis his feet he pointed out to his congregation the three leanes growing from the one stalk by that simple illustration bring ing the members of his flock to a realization of a triune god since then that trefoil has been sa cred and together with the harp has been the emblem of the emerald isle As long as the shamrock continues to spring from the soil of erin the alue celt will observe the yearly re burring holiday that is supposed to mark the anniversary of the birth of ireland s patron saint it is true that many well informed irishmen will tell us that the ot of march is not cele berated as the birthday of patrick patriel be cause it is by no means certain that it Is the correct date but that the day Is merely set apart as a time upon which to honor the old saint saints s mem or ory but be that as it may the ma bority of people and perhaps a major ity of the irish consider it the birth day anniversary 0 of ireland s great evangelist what the fourth of july is to the trueborn true born american st pat hicl ricks s day Is to both the native irish man and the irish american it Is true that the latter is loyal to his adopted country and has many times proved his patriotism but when the ot of march appears the citizen of dibern lan blood is ready to celebrate a day this is exclusively his own a day commemorating g I 1 an ebent that oc burred 15 cen ago yet which remains un un vj dimmed 1 by fh the mists of time it must be con hessed that the celebration of st patrick patriel s da day iq 1 whole not upon the whole a j invested with any marked degree ot of sanctity by Us its par that is apparent at least to american eyes of course upon that occasion appropriate ceremonies are conducted in the churches with becom ing reverence but to irishmen as a w whole hole the anniversary of the old saint saints s nativity is 1001 ed forward to as a day for participating in all the pomp and 1 pageantry lage age antry ot of the street parade in which the green flag with the harp and shamrock shares the honors of the day with the star and stripes ot of the Mile s adopted country 1001 ed at from a meteorological point of 0 view the festival ot of the canon iced patricks birth enjoys a distine tion that is by no means mythical those who have long made a study ot of the weather and its vagaries can tes tiby that the of march as it ap pears each bear ear is as a rule charac charae by storms ot of either rain or snow or gales of wind the few ex captions to this phenomenon only prove the rule the boisterous deportment of the elements on that day however are easily accounted for by the fact that the vernal equinox is then near at a t hand when elemental and athoa phenic disturbances are liable to occur |