St Patrick's Day 2012: 10 Things To Know About the Saint

St Patrick's Day is celebrated around the world on 17 March, which marks the arrival of Saint Patrick who played a major role in converting Irish to Christianity.

Several countries around the world including Ireland, the United States, Denmark, Argentina mark the day with parades, green beer, wear green clothes and celebrate.

Google dedicated a new doodle to mark the St Patrick's day. The day is declared a national holiday in Ireland. There have been many legends and stories about St Patrick.

Here are 10 interesting things to know about Saint Patrick.

1. Saint Patrick was not born in Ireland. He was born in Great Britain. His original name was Maewyn Succat.

2. He was born to a wealthy family. But he was kidnapped and taken to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16.

3. He escaped to England after six years and became a priest. He returned to Ireland as a missionary and played a major role in converting Celtic Pagans to Christianity.

4. Saint Patrick used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity.

5. Initially, the colour associated with Saint Patrick was blue. But over the years green has become popular as it was associated with the shamrock used by the saint.

6. The legend says that St Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland. To this day, Ireland is a snake-free zone. But scientists say that snakes are not in Ireland because of country's geographical position.

7. There are reports that Saint Patrick was never canonised by a Pope, but he is on the List of Saints.

8. There are only two surviving written letters credited to Saint Patrick named the Confessio and the Letter to Coroticus. The first letter is an autobiographical account of Saint Patrick's life. The second one is a letter to the soldiers of Coroticus , in which Saint Patrick stated that he was excluding the church membership of the soldiers who took citizens into slavery in Ireland.

9. The exact dates of Saint Patrick's birth and death are unknown. St Patrick's Day is celebrated on the date of Saint Patrick's death, which has been recorded as 17 March.

10. Saint Patrick is said to be buried in Downpatrick in Ireland.