The common misconception about St. Patrick's Day is that it is a celebration of St. Patrick chasing the snakes from Ireland. This is simply not true. There have been no native snakes in Ireland since the Ice Age. Druids were also known as "Serpents of Wisdom", as many cultures held the serpent (or snake) as a creature of wisdom. The "snakes" St. Patrick chased out of Ireland were the Druids, making St. Patrick's Day a day of celebrating St. Patrick chasing the Druids (and with them, the old religion) out of Ireland.

Certainly the spiritual quality of the St. Pat's celebrations here in America are deeply observed, including the religious icons of green beer and street puke.