St Patrick’s DayWhen and

Why?St. Patrick's Day honors St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Irish people celebrate St. Patrick's Day on March 17th.

Who was St Patrick?

March 17th was not the day St.

Patrick was born but the day he

died. St. Patrick was born in Wales, studied religion

and then went to Ireland to teach the people about

God.

The legends say that Saint Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland.

They all went into the sea and drowned.

St Patrick’s symbols

The shamrockAccording to legend, Saint Patrick used a shamrock to explain about God. The shamrock, which looks like clover, has three leaves. Saint Patrick told the people that the shamrock was like the idea of the Trinity – that in the one God there are three divine beings: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The shamrock was sacred to the Druids, so Saint Patrick’s use of it in explaining the trinity was very wise.

   Leprechauns

The stories about Leprechauns tell how they are very clever little creatures. They look like a small, old man. According to the stories, leprechauns are unfriendly and unsociable. They live alone, and pass the time making shoes for the fairies.

They also have a hidden pot of gold. If you catch one, you can threaten to hurt him if he doesn't tell you where the treasure is.

But, you must keep your eyes on him every second.  If the leprechaun tricks you into looking away, he will disappear.  Then you have no hope of finding the treasure.

  

Green colour

Green is associated with Saint Patrick's Day because it is

the colour of spring, Ireland, and the

shamrock.

Where do people celebrate it?Although it began in Ireland, Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated in countries around the world. People with Irish heritage remind themselves of the beautiful green countryside of Ireland by wearing green and taking part in the festivities.

Ireland (Dublin) Saint Patrick’s Day is

usually celebrated with a parade. The one in Dublin, Ireland is known to some as

the Irish Mardi Gras. There is irish music and typical dances.

USA In Chicago

every year on St Patrick’s day

the river is coloured green.

There is an important parade too

But the one in New York City is actually one of the biggest. Two Irish wolfhounds, the mascots of the New York National Guard always start the parade. More than one hundred bands and a hundred thousand marchers follow the wolfhounds in the parade.

This parade in Japan started

in 1992 for the purpose

of introducing Ireland to Japanese

Did you know all these things about this festival?

Now you can answer these questions about it:

When is St Patrick’s day?What are the symbols of this

festival?What countries do they

celebrate it in?

THE END