Saint Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day written by Marcy Aboff Illustrated by Elaine S. Verstraet

圣帕特里克节 作者：玛西·阿博夫 绘者：伊莱恩·S·弗斯特雷特

Introduction On March 17th, people around the world come together for St. Patrick's Day. This holiday celebrates the people and culture of Ireland. Towns and cities have parades with music and dancing. Many people wear green and eat Irish foods. The day started, however, as a day to celebrate St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.

引言 每年3月17日，世界各地的人们都会聚在一起庆祝圣帕特里克节。 这个节日旨在颂扬爱尔兰的人民与文化。 大大小小的城镇会举办载歌载舞的游行。 很多人会身穿绿色服饰，品尝爱尔兰特色美食。 不过这个节日最初是为了纪念爱尔兰的守护神圣帕特里克。

Who was St. Patrick? St. Patrick wasn't always a saint, nor was he Patrick. He wasn't even Irish. His name was Maywin Sucat. He was born into a Catholic family in Britain around AD 385 or 390. When he was 16, Irish invaders captured him and took him to Ireland.

圣帕特里克是谁？ 圣帕特里克并非生来就是圣人，原本也不叫帕特里克，甚至都不是爱尔兰人。 他的本名是梅温·苏卡特。 公元385年或390年左右，他出生在英国的一个天主教家庭。 他16岁那年，爱尔兰入侵者俘虏了他，把他带到了爱尔兰。

Maywin was forced to take care of sheep in Ireland for six years. During this difficult time, he found comfort in his religion. He later wrote that a dream told him to escape on a ship. When he did, he returned to his family in Britain.

梅温被迫在爱尔兰放了六年羊。 在那段艰难的时光里，他从自己的宗教信仰中得到了慰藉。 后来他在著作中写道，有个梦指引他乘船逃走。 他按照梦里的指引行动，回到了英国的家人身边。

His writings say he had another dream in Britain. The dream told him to return to Ireland to help the Irish people. Maywin later began many years of training and became a priest and then a bishop. He was given the Latin name Patricius, or Patrick.

他的著作里提到，自己在英国时又做了一个梦。 这个梦指引他回到爱尔兰，去帮助那里的人民。 后来梅温接受了多年的训练，先后成为神父和主教。 他被赐予拉丁名帕特里修斯，也就是帕特里克。

Patrick finally returned to Ireland. He set up schools and churches. He helped people in need and became well known. Many people in Ireland became Catholic because of Patrick.

帕特里克终于回到了爱尔兰。 他建造了学校和教堂。 他帮助有困难的人，渐渐声名远扬。 在帕特里克的影响下，很多爱尔兰人都成了天主教徒。