St. Patrick’s Day History and Traditions

Who was St. Patrick? St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. He converted many Irish to Christianity in the fifth century. St. Patrick died on March 17, circa 462. St. Patrick’s Day is the saint’s feast day and has evolved from a religious holiday to a worldwide celebration.

St. Patrick’s Day Traditions Christians attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon, although pubs in Ireland were closed on March 17 by law until 1995.

The rules of Lent are waived and it´s traditionally eaten Irish bacon and cabbage. St. Patrick’s Day Traditions

The Chicago River has been dyed green every year since 1962.

The first St. Patty’s Day parade occurred when Irish soldiers in the British army marched through New York City on March 17 th, St. Patrick’s Day Traditions

St. Patrick’s Day Symbols Music has always been an important part of Irish life. Irish music is produced with instruments like the fiddle, the uilleann pipes, the tin whistle, and the bodhran. St. Patrick never drove snakes from Ireland; the story is a metaphor for driving paganism from the island. The traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage has been modified in the United States. Irish bacon has been replaced with corned beef for the annual feast.

St. Patrick’s Day Symbols The Celtic Cross : a sun (from the Celts) super-imposed on a cross (from the Christians) The shamrock (clover) or “seamroy” symbolizes the rebirth of spring. It was later adopted as a symbol of Irish nationalism.

But... something is missing.

What does the Irish word leprechaun mean? Leprechaun is the Irish word for “little man” The leprechaun, or “lobaircin” was a cranky, “small- bodied fellow” of Celtic folklore.

What are leprechauns? They are cunning little men about 2 feet tall (63cm). They live under rainbows in humans’ shoes and own a pot of gold.

What do leprechauns look like? They are very ugly with pointy ears, big noses and red beards. They wear green.

What do all leprechauns have in common? They all have a purse with two coins in it. One coin would turn into rock as soon as it was spent. The other coin appeared back in the purse after it was spent.

Do leprechauns have jobs? Yes. They make shoes for fairies.

Where can you find leprechauns? Everywhere but mostly in Ireland.

How do you know if there is a leprechaun nearby ? If you find a four leaf clover that means a leprechaun was recently there.

What should you do if you see a leprechaun? Grab him quickly and he will show you where his gold is! Don’t look away! If you do he will disappear!

Leprechaun´s gold YKk0 Saint Patrick´s Day, March 17th 2009 Montse O ´Bermúdez