Patrick Rowland, age 9, of Nashua, N.H., for his question:

WHY DO WE CELEBRATE ST. PATRICK'S DAY?

On March 17 people in all parts of the world celebrate St. Patrick's Day. It was on March 17 in about the year 461 that St. Patrick died. Later he was to become the patron saint of Ireland, and that's why his special day is celebrated each year.

As a religious leader, St. Patrick used the shamrock to illustrate the ideas of Trinity. Some believe he also got rid of all the snakes in Ireland.

The Sons of St. Patrick was organized in Philadelphia back in the colonial days. Irishmen of the Roman Catholic and Presbyterian faiths organized another chapter of the society in New York. St. Patrick's Day is their favorite holiday and they hold parades to prove it.

Observations of St. Patrick's Day have been held in America since 1845. It is celebrated in many homes, churches and schools. Merchants sell special cards, corned beef and cabbage, green wearing apparel and shamrocks.