The Ides of March – not many people know what that is. How about St. Patrick’s Day? Sure, we all know what day it is, but how many of you can tell me who St. Patrick was and why he has a day all to himself? Well, thankfully, I’m here to enlighten you about both of these holidays. First, the Ides of March falls on March 15, and it stems from how Romans used to number the days of the month. The ides were the 13 and 15 of each month and are determined by when the full moon of the month falls. In 44 BCE, Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of conspirators, led by Brutus and Cassius. He was stabbed 33 times, all during a meeting of the senate. This is most commonly known to those who are familiar with the Shakespearean play, Julius Caesar. This is where the semi-famous line, “Beware the ides of March” comes from. The Ides of March is celebrated for this reason, though it’s not as common in the U.S. as Italy. Now, onto the more known holiday: St. Patrick’s Day, which is celebrated on March 17. Not much is known about the early life of St. Patrick other than both his father and grandfather were priests in the Christian church in Romano-Britain. Sadly, at the age of 16, Patrick was captured and sold into slavery in Ireland. Most kids would have just accepted their fate and lived as a slave. However, Patrick claims that in a dream the Christian god told him to flee to the coast, get on a boat and go back home. And, needless to say, he did. Upon returning to Britain, he studied and became a priest. In 432 BCE, he went back to Ireland to convert the pagans to Christianity because in those times, it was the only accepted religion. According to legend, Patrick used the shamrock to explain to the natives about how Christianity worked and those who weren’t Christians are barbaric and uneducated. After preaching for 30 years, he died on March 17, 461 AD. Of course, since he once used the shamrock to explain the holy trinity, the color green and shamrocks became associated with him and his holiday. Two fairly important holidays reflecting world history, and yet most people will continue celebrating these holidays without knowing a single thing about them.