by Alix Messer |

It is better to be prepared on St. Patrick’s day by wearing green than risk getting pinched or poked, and there is no Coke involved in these pokes. Besides green, common themes that center around St. Patrick’s day are lucky charms, gold, and magical creatures.

“My lucky charm is a four-leaf clover that I got in fifth grade from my teacher and it is very lucky,” sophomore Ali Collins said.

Not every student has a lucky charm, but they keep a magical creature close at hand.

“I actually have a pet leprechaun. I keep him behind my closet,” junior Alex Hemphill said.

St. Patrick’s day is not just about the lucky charms and magical creatures, though. There are many traditions around the city on St. Patricks day, like eating corned beef and cabbage, going to the Snake Saturday parade, or even trying green eggs and ham.

“Once, my roommates and I did make a ham and egg meal and coated it with green food coloring. It turned out to be slimy and disgusting. I do not recommend trying it!” history teacher Ellen Meade said.

Some students have their own traditions on St. Patrick’s day.

“I go to my grandma’s and she makes us wear elf ears,” Collins said.

Despite all the traditions of gold, green, and four-leaf clovers that surround St. Patrick’s day, how did this holiday come about?

“St. Patrick’s Day is the commemoration of the death of Patricius, a.k.a. Patrick, the Catholic patron saint of Ireland,” Meade said. “Patrick was born just a few hundred years after the birth of Jesus and Christianity. When Patrick was 16 he was kidnapped and forced into slavery by Irish bandits. During his captivity, his religious convictions grew strong. After he finally escaped, he became a priest and went back to Ireland to convert the polytheistic pagan Irish to Christianity. Converting Ireland to Christianity gave Patrick his notoriety and Sainthood.”

There is also a show on the History Channel each year on St. Patrick’s day about St. Patrick and the day devoted to him.

“I usually watch the history channel about the origin of it because I forget every year. I relearn it when I watch it,” Hemphill said.

With this history lesson, there is still another question: why do clovers and the color green symbolize luck?

“It is said, St. Patrick would use the green three leaf clover to explain the Catholic concept of the trinity- or the belief in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as one entity,“ Meade said. “The shamrock is also the national flower of Ireland- thus the reason we wear the color green on St. Patty’s Day.”

So when March 17 rolls around, remember St. Patrick and be wary of green eggs and ham.