Here's a brief history of St. Patrick's Day.

以下是聖派翠克節的簡短歷史。

Well, first of all, St. Patrick wasn't even Irish.

嗯，首先，聖派翠克根本不是愛爾蘭人。

Born in Britain in the late 4th century, Maewyn Succat was captured and enslaved by Irish raiders.

生於 4 世紀晚期英國的 Maewyn Succat 被愛爾蘭入侵者俘虜並奴役。

After years of forced labor, he escaped to Britain, where he joined the Catholic church, changed his name to Patricius, or Patrick.

經過多年被迫勞動後，他逃離到英國，在當地加入了天主教堂並將名字改為 Patricius，亦即派翠克。

Years later, he returned to Ireland as a Christian missionary, devoting nearly 30 years to converting the Irish.

多年後，他以基督教傳教士回到愛爾蘭，並奉獻近 30 年的時間改變愛爾蘭人信仰。

Now, legend has it that Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland, but to tell you the truth, there never were snakes on the island.

據傳派翠克將所有的蛇驅離了愛爾蘭，但真相是，島上從未有過蛇出沒。

When he finally died, Patrick became the patron saint of Ireland, despite his British heritage.

當他逝世時，派翠克成為了愛爾蘭的守護神，儘管他擁有英國血統。

It all began in 1903, when St. Patrick's Day, also known as Feast Day, became a national holiday in Ireland celebrated on March 17th, the day of St. Patrick's death.

一切始於 1903 年，當聖派翠克節（又稱盛宴節）成為愛爾蘭在聖派翠克逝世 3 月 17 日當天慶祝的國定假日。

Festivities usually just amounted to attending church and gathering for feasts.

慶典通常等同於上教堂並聚集享用大餐。

In fact, drinking was actually banned in Ireland on St. Patrick's Day up until the 1970s.

事實上，直到 1970 年代，愛爾蘭的聖派翠克節都是禁止飲酒的。

Irish immigrants brought the tradition to America in the early 1700s, where it evolved into a secular holiday, often centered around drinking and celebrating all things Irish.

愛爾蘭移民在 1700 年代早期講這個傳統引入美國，它在那裡演變為一個非宗教節日，慶典通常環繞著飲酒並慶祝愛爾蘭的一切。

The first-ever St. Patrick's Day parade was held in Boston in 1737, and today, there are over 100 St. Patrick's Day parades across the US.

史上第一場聖派翠克節遊行是 1737 年在波士頓舉辦，今日全美國有超過 100 場聖派翠克節遊行。

In Chicago, they use 40 pounds of green dye to turn the river even greener each year,

芝加哥每年會用重 40 磅的綠色染料將河流變得更綠，

and New York City's annual parade is the largest in the world, with an estimated 2 million spectators.

而紐約市的每年遊行是全球最大規模，估計有 2 百萬名觀眾。

With over 34 million Americans claiming Irish ancestry, even more, claiming to be Irish when they're not,

有鑒於超過 3 千 4 百萬民美國人聲稱有愛爾蘭血統，甚至不屬實地聲稱自己是愛爾蘭人，

it's no surprise this holiday has become one of the largest in the country.

難怪這個節日已經成為全國最大節日之一。