St Patricks Day was made an official holiday in the early 17th century. Patrick was a 17th century bishop in Ireland, It is believed that he was born in Roman Britian in the fourth century. His father was a deacon and his grandfather was a priest in the Christian church. At the age of 16 he was kidnapped by Irish and sold as a slave to Gaelic Ireland. When he was there he discoverd God, eventually he returned to his home and he decided to convert to christianity. According to the scrpit it says he spent the rest of his life freeing slaves and converting them to christianity and being followers of God. He eventually drove all of the “snakes” out of Ireland even though there werent any there. In these celebrations they involve parades, festivals, and Irish music sessions. These were more common in the past. St Patrick’s Day parades began in North America in the 18th century but did not spread to Ireland until the 20th century. Marching bands, Military, and Fire Brigades are usually a part of the celebrations. More effort is made to use the Irish language, especially in Ireland where the week of St Patrick’s Day is “Irish language week”. Recently famous landmarks have been lit up in green on St Patrick’s Day.