Every year, March 17 marks the day that people around the world celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday filled with green outfits, parades, and Irish pride. It has evolved from a religious feast day into a global celebration of Irish culture, characterized by wearing green, parades, music, dancing, and enjoying Irish food

St. Patrick’s Days honors Saint Patrick, who lived during the 5th century. As a teenager, he was kidnapped by an Irish raider and brought to Ireland as a slave. He escaped several years later, but later returned as a missionary. Saint Patrick is credited with spreading Christianity throughout Ireland and is said to have used the three-leaf clover, or shamrock to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity. Since then, he has become one of Ireland’s most important figures.

Today, St Patrick’s day is known for lively traditions. People wear green, decorate with shamrocks and leprechauns, go to parades, and listen to music. In some places, rivers and landmarks are even dyed green to mark the occasion.

The tradition of “catching leprechauns” as a popular, widespread St. Patrick’s Day activity for children—often involving building traps—gained significant traction in the mid-to-late 2000s and early 2010s. The modern tradition of creating school and home-based traps has evolved into a commercialized activity in recent years, while based on ancient Irish folklore.