St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick Born a pagan in Wales Kidnapped by Irish pirates at age 16 Lived as a shepherd slave in Ireland for 6 years During slavery, he became a Christian
Escaped at about age 22 Went to seminary in England Returned to Ireland as a missionary Converted most of the island from paganism to Christianity
Paganism/Druidism Worship of spirits/many gods Human sacrifice Tree spirits Human sacrifice Halloween
Shamrock— National symbol of Ireland Also called “clover” Four leaf clover --thought to be lucky!
Leprechaun A short “cranky” man Difficult to find Has a lot of gold Hides gold in a pot at the end of a rainbow To find the gold, you must follow the leprechaun—they are very fast and sneaky!
Celtic Cross/Celtic Knots A style of drawing where the artist “knots” the lines together—traditional Celtic art style The cross is the Christian cross combined with the Celtic symbol for sun. This was first done by St. Patrick.
Step Dancing!!! Traditional Celtic dancing Involves tap dance and ballet A lot of jumping and footwork