St. Patrick’s Day (also known as St. Patty’s Day) is celebrated on March 17, in the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Russia, Singapore, Japan and many more countries. There are lots of parades and parties. Many people decorate with green shamrocks, gold coins and leprechauns. In Chicago, they use 40 pounds of dye to make the Chicago River turn green for the day. The largest St. Patrick’s Day parade is held in New York.

The real St. Patrick was named Maewyn Succat. He was a missionary and converted Irish people into Christians. When he was 16, he was taken from his home by robbers and held captive for six years. He became very religious and escaped from his captors. He says that in a dream he was told to leave Ireland, so he went to England. He had another dream where he was told to return to Ireland as a missionary. He did so and converted many people. He mixed religion and Irish culture so that people would be more likely to respond to him. He died on March 17, 460 A.D., which is why St. Patrick’s Day is on that date each year.