On Tuesday afternoon at Pattaya City Hall, there was a Review of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which was held on March 17th. Mayor Ittipon Khunpleum donated the money raised from the Parade to the President of Father Ray Foundation Fr. Patarapong Sri-wo-ra-kul and in return, Fr Patarapong gave a Shamrock plant, a symbol of Ireland, to the Mayor, as a souvenir of St. Patrick’s Day, before everyone posed for pictures.

St. Patrick was an Irish Saint who helped many of people when he was alive. He would often use the Shamrock plant, which looks like clover, with three leaves on each stem, to teach the people about the Christian Trinity – that in the one God there are three divine beings:  the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  The shamrock was also sacred to the native Druids, so Saint Patrick’s use of it in explaining the trinity was very wise. St. Patrick’s Day began in Boston, USA in 1762 by a group of homesick Irishmen who settled in there, and has continued till this day.

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