The Irish may consider that St. Patrick’s Day is an opportunity for revelry associated with the annual feast day (March 17) of the “Emerald Isle’s” patron saint, but the truth is that the festivities have a number of pagan symbolisms.

St. Patrick’s claim to fame is that he drove the snakes from Ireland. The legendary snake maybe a pagan symbol, referring metaphorically to the fact that St. Patrick eradicated paganism and converted the Celts of Ireland, or Hibernia during the Roman antiquity, to Christianity.

According to historical annals, St. Patrick was born in Roman Britannia, however, his feast day on March 17 had little to do with the early Christian missionary himself. It was designed to coincide with and replace the pagan holiday known as Ostara, the second spring festival to celebrate the rebirth of nature prior to the spring equinox on March 22.

In other words, St. Patrick’s Day was the Christian replacement for a pagan holiday that originated in ancient Greece. Even the symbolism of the oak tree for St. Patrick’s day celebrations was an ancient Hellenic symbol.

The ancient Greeks worshipped the oak tree as it was sacred to Zeus. Both the Greeks and the Celts believed that touching sacred trees could tap into good fortune. The wearing of oak leafs was believed to protect the wearer.