It’s March, the month that we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Every year St. Patrick’s Day is held on March 17th. St. Patrick’s Day is a fun-filled day of parades and traditions to celebrate Irish heritage and culture. Find out why we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with these fun St. Patrick’s Day for Kids
Who was Saint Patrick?
St. Patrick was a patron of Ireland. A patron is a person who gives financial and other support to a person, organization, cause, or activity. He is credited for bringing the religion of Christianity to Ireland.
St. Patrick was born in Bannavem Taberniae England around 386AD. He died on March 17th 460 AD.
At the age of 16, he was kidnapped by the Irish and sold into slavery. He was brought to Ireland and worked as a shepherd.
At the age of 22, he escaped slavery.
He dedicated himself to the Christian religion. He studied in a monastery of Le’rins off the coast of France and in France with Saint Germanicus a French Bishop.
St. Patrick returned to Ireland in his 30’s.
Legends of St. Patrick
Legend says that St. Patrick used a shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish. He used the clover to represent three separate parts (3 leaves of the clover) of the same being. The first leaf was God the Father, the second leaf the Son, and the third leaf the Holy Spirit.
There are many legends about St. Patrick. One story states that he drove all the snakes out of Ireland. He didn’t really drive snakes out of Ireland. The snakes represent the pagans he converted to Christianity.
Why do we Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?
St. Patrick’s Day or also known as St. Patrick Feast Day is celebrated on March 17th in honor of the anniversary of Sanit Patrick’s death.
St. Patrick’s Feast Day became an office celebration in the 17th century. The celebration is observed by the Catholic Church, Anglican Communion Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and Lutheran Church.
Shamrocks
A shamrock is a plant whose leaves are divided into three leaflets. The current Guinness Book of World Records record holder for the most leaves found on a shamrock clover was 56. It was discovered by Shigeo Obara of Japan.
Because Saint Patrick is believed to have used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity it became a symbol for St. Patrick’s Day.
Legend says that finding a four-leaf clover on St. Patrick’s Day will bring you luck. Each cloverleaf represents something different. First leaf represents hope, second leaf represents faith, third leaf represents love and the fourth leaf represents luck.
There are many legends about St. Patrick. One story states that he drove all the snakes out of Ireland. He didn’t really drive snakes out of Ireland. The snakes represent the pagans he converted to Christianity.
St. Patrick’s Day Facts for Kids
Did you know that the original color for St. Patrick’s Day was blue? In Irish legends and stories green was worn by fairies and immortals. It was also believed that wearing green would help make a good growing season for their crops in Ireland. Green became the color for St. Patrick’s Day in the early 19th century.
During the St. Patrick’s Day Festival, there is a parade, carnival, treasure hunt, and dances.
The harp is the symbol of Ireland.
The color green represents Ireland. Ireland is also called “The Emerald Isle.”
The Irish flag is green, white and orange. Green represents the people of the South, Orange represents the people of the North and White represents the peace that brings the North and South together.
St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are held not only in Ireland but around the world in countries such as Canada, Japan, Montserrat (an Island in the Caribbean), New Zealand, Australia, Russia, Great Britain, Argentina, Switzerland, South Korea, and the United States.
Leprechauns
Did you know that a leprechaun is a type of fairy in Irish folklore.
Leprechauns are part of the Tuatha De Danann. Tuatha De Danann are a race of people of Irish Mythology.
Legend says that leprechauns spend all their time making shoes. They store their coins in a hidden pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Leprechauns are believed to have special powers. If you catch one, they will grant you three wishes in exchange for being let go.
Click here for Leprechaun Facts for Kids
St. Patrick’s Day in the United States
34 million Americans are part Irish. That is more than in the amount of people living in the country of Ireland!
Boston Massachusetts has the highest population of Irish people in the United States.
There are many St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the United States.
Many states have parades. The first St. Patrick’s Day Parade was not in Ireland but in Boston. The Boston parade started in in 1737!
New York City located in New York has one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day parades in the world.
In Chicago, the Chicago River gets temporarily dyed green in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.
Corn beef and cabbage is an Irish American dish.
41.4 billion pounds of beef are produced each year for St. Patrick‘s Day. Most of the in the beef in the United States comes from Texas.
2.5 billion pounds of cabbage is grown for St. Patrick’s Day. The cabbage mostly comes from California.
United States President Barack Obama is part Irish.
Ireland Facts
Ireland is an island. Because of the many large green fields. Its nickname is the Emerald Isle. Dublin is the capital of Ireland. In Dublin, they celebrate the St. Patrick’s Day Festival March 15th -19th. During St. Patrick’s Day festivals In Ireland, people wear shamrocks on their jackets and hats. Children wear green, white, and orange (colors of their flag) and girls wear green ribbons in their hair.
Ireland is the only country to have a musical instrument (the harp) as a national symbol.
The roots of Halloween come from the Irish.
There are no snakes in Ireland.