St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17. St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland.

In the picture you can see a "leprechaun" an Irish fairy taking the appearance of a little  old man, a "shomaker". All leprechauns have a pot of gold. If you are fortunate enough and capture a leprechaun he might tell you where the gold is.

On St. Patrick’s Day, people traditionally wear a small bunch of shamrocks on their jackets or caps. Children wear orange, white and green badges, and women and girls wear green ribbons in their hair.

Many cities have a St. Patrick’s Day parade. Dublin, the capital of Ireland, has a huge St. Patrick’s Day festival from March 15-19.

St. Patrick was born in 385 AD somewhere along the west coast of Britain, possibly in the Welsh town of Banwen. At age 16, he was captured and sold into slavery to a sheep farmer. He escaped when he was 22 and spent the next 12 years in a monastery. In his 30s he returned to Ireland as a Christian missionary. He died at Saul in 461 AD and is buried at Downpatrick.

The Irish flag is green, white and orange. The green symbolizes the people of the south, and orange, the people of the north. White represents the peace that brings them together as a nation.

This is the story of St. Patrick. You can hear the children telling the story to the teacher in the classroom. I hope you like it.

Click here if you want to know more about St.Patrick.