I'll concede St. Patrick's heritage to you but there were no snakes in Ireland during his time! The main point as tmana pointed out is that many holidays are really made up events, conjunctions of Christian/Pagan rituals, or glamorized events. These are not necessarily bad things, as they are a part of our culture. They help to shape our personal national image. The point is that to be good citizens and guardians of our own heritage, this is one area of our lives that most people just don't pay enough attention too.