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Originally a religious holiday, St. Patrick's Day is now the National Day of Ireland, usually celebrated on March 17th, and named after a patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick.
It is an official holiday in Ireland, and is celebrated in many countries around the world in a more casual manner (not as an 'official' banking/government holiday) by Irish and non-Irish decedents alike. It generally celebrates all things Irish, more than celebrating St. Patrick himself.
St. Patrick was a missionary that spread Christianity throughout Ireland, starting over 300 churches. He is credited with taking traditional Christian symbols and blending them with traditional Irish symbols to make them more familiar and comfortable to those he was converting.
Much about his life is unknown, and there are many myths and legends surrounding his life, such as the banishing of snakes from Ireland, among others.
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