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Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day!
(by Melissa Frasier - March 08, 2010)
My calendar is always jam packed with activities, appointments and “to do” lists. So when I see a holiday fast approaching, I have to be prepared. (This can require bringing cookies to school so advance notice is essential!)
What is this holiday called, “St. Patrick’s Day” that shows up on our calendar on March 17, in between Valentine’s Day and Easter? It is a holiday that doesn’t earn much shelf space in the stores. If you hunt around looking for a little bit of green, you might see something on the end cap display. Compared to the attention given to Valentine’s Day and Easter, you might as well be searching for a four-leaf clover! You may nd a commercial shamrock or two, or maybe perhaps a cute Leprechaun’s hat to wear on March 17.
Most folks probably let this holiday pass by without much thought as to what they are actually celebrating. The kids remember to wear green to school so that they don’t get pinched. Some of the more daring kids will wear it “under cover” so they can sock the kid who pinched them! You might see a little bit of “green” when you are out and about your day. So this got me thinking, what really is St. Patrick’s Day all about?
With modern day technology, this answer was but a mere two seconds away, thanks to Google. I found out some interesting things about this holiday that I didn’t know. Within Ireland, this is actually considered a holy holiday, with a big feast of celebration. Outside of Ireland, this holiday has become more of a celebration of everything Irish or of Ireland itself. The person, who the holiday was named after, was a priest and missionary named Patrick, who was believed to have died on March 17. Patrick had been a slave in Ireland in his youth, but came back later to convert the Irish people to Christianity. Patrick himself was not of Irish descent.
The symbol of the shamrock, which we associate with this holiday, was said to have been used by Patrick to teach about the concept of the trinity (father, son and Holy Spirit) to the Irish people. The legend of him driving all of the snakes out of Ireland has not been proven though, as legends go. In fact most historians say the information they have about Patrick is vague and embellished. Nevertheless, it has become a holiday celebrated all over the globe.
So how about some fun St. Paddy’s Day facts?
• On Saint Patrick’s Day in Ireland, children will wear orange, white and green badges (their country’s ag colors) and women will wear green ribbons in their hair.
• In North America, parades are often held on the Sunday before March 17. Some paint the yellow street lines green for the day!
• The Chicago River is dyed green with a special dye that only lasts a few hours.
• There has been a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Boston, Massachusetts since 1737.
• Some American towns have “Irish” names! You could visit: Shamrock Lakes, Indiana;
Shamrock, Oklahoma; Shamrock, Texas; Dublin, California and Dublin, Ohio.
• One estimate suggests that there are about 10,000 regular three-leaf clovers for every lucky four-leaf clover.
• According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the highest number of leaves found on a clover is 14!
• One reason the color green is associated with St. Patrick’s Day is because it is the color of spring. It is also the color associated with the countryside of Ireland.
• 34.5 million U.S. residents claim Irish ancestry. That is 9 times the current population of Ireland!
I could go on and on, but if you are a busy mom like me, another holiday is always right around the corner. I am already thinking about putting together Easter baskets for my kids and getting those eggs hidden! But it was fun to take a break from another busy day to ponder more about a holiday that may get overlooked. Don’t forget everyone is a little “Irish” on St. Paddy’s day! Maybe this holiday will become a new favorite for your family?
If you would like to read some more about St. Patrick’s Day, a great website to visit is http://holidays.kaboose.com/patrick-history.html, and get ideas for food, games, and crafts for the kids.
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