This week I’m gearing up for one of my favorite holidays — one that allows me to dress in green, pinch people who refuse to follow suit, and wear pins that say, “Kiss me, I’m Irish.”

I’m talking, of course, about Saint Patrick’s Day, which is observed each year on March 17. Many people associate this holiday with the traditions I mentioned above. While those traditions make the holiday a lot of fun, I’m afraid that many of us have forgotten about the actual meaning of the day.

Saint Patrick’s Day is a feast day to celebrate Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It was first placed on the universal liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church in the 17th century, and now several nations around the world recognize the holiday.

I have a personal fascination with Saint Patrick and all things Irish due to my background in Irish dance. My mother signed me up for Irish dance classes when I was 11, and I have been dancing ever since. I have had the honor of competing throughout the nation and twice in the World Championships of Irish Dance in Ireland.

After seeing firsthand the beauty of Ireland, the land of my kin, I wanted to learn as much as I could about the nation. Inevitably, I came across much information about Saint Patrick. It is hard to separate fact from fiction when it comes to the saint. Did he really run the snakes out of Ireland? Did he really explain the Holy Trinity by using a shamrock?

We can learn much about Patrick, though, from his letters that have been preserved. Patrick’s is a beautiful story of forgiveness. Patrick, as we have come to call him, was born in Roman Britain, probably near the close of the fourth century. He was born to an elite family, and his father was a deacon in the Christian church. At the age of 15 or 16, Patrick was kidnapped and carried off to Ireland to labor as a slave. He was a slave for six years, watching over his master’s sheep. It was then that he developed his faith.

In one of his letters, Patrick writes that one night as a slave he had a dream in which a voice told him that he would soon be going home. He later escaped, making the treacherous journey across Ireland and the sea to make it back to his family. Once back home, Patrick had a dream urging him to return to Ireland. He underwent years of training before returning to Ireland as a bishop, to preach salvation among people who had kidnapped him and sold him into slavery.

Patrick spent the rest of his life among the Irish. Two of his letters have survived today. I have enjoyed reading Philip Freeman’s translation of the letters from Latin. In his Confession, Patrick writes, “The love of Christ carried me here to be a help to these people for the rest of my life, if I may be worthy, and to work for them with humility in sincerity.”

Patrick was a human being like the rest of us, and we can never truly know what he was like. But his influence has reached down through centuries. A person doesn’t have to be religious to recognize the powerful story behind Saint Patrick’s life. He chose service instead of revenge, a principle that is still very applicable and needed today.

So next Wednesday I will wear green, pinch all party poopers, and dance a few jigs. But I also will keep in mind the story of Patrick, one who was determined to repay evil with good.

Meghann Evans is a staff reporter with The Mount Airy News. She can be reached at mevans@mtairynews.com or at 719-1952.