Saint Patrick's Day

About Saint Patrick's Day:

Saint Patrick's Day, also know as St. Paddy's Day or Paddy's Day, is an annual feast day which celebrates Saint Patrick, who’s real name was Maewyn Succat (385–461 AD), of Ireland one of the world's most popular saints. He is best known as the patron saint of Ireland. He died on March 17th.

As well as being a celebration of Irish culture, Saint Patrick's Day is a Christian festival celebrated in the Catholic Church, the Church of Ireland, and some other denominations. The day almost always falls in the season of Lent. Some bishops will grant an indult, or release, from the Friday no-meat observance when St. Patrick's Day falls on a Friday. When 17 March falls on a Sunday, church calendars (though rarely secular ones) move Saint Patrick's Day to the following Monday—and when the 17th falls during Holy Week (very rarely, but it did happen 2008 and won’t be again until 2160), the observance will be moved to the next available date or, exceptionally, before holy week.

Many cultures regardless of ethnic background, including Americans, celebrate the holiday by wearing green clothing. Traditionally, those who are caught not wearing green are pinched, though this practice is in fact alien to those who actually come from Ireland.

The St. Patrick's Day parade in Dublin, Ireland is part of a five-day festival. The first U. S. St. Patrick's Day parade was held in Boston in 1761 and the following year New York City celebrated St. Paddy’s day on March 18.

Fun Facts:

• Irish colonists brought Saint Patrick's Day to what is now the United States of America.
• In the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, it is widely celebrated but is not an official holiday.
• The predominantly French-speaking Canadian city of Montreal, in the province of Québec has the longest continually running Saint Patrick's day parade in North America, since 1824.
• According to legend, St. Patrick used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish.
• Chicago dyes its river green and has done so since 1961
• Indianapolis dyes its main canal green.
• Savannah dyes its downtown city fountains green.
• Ireland is the only place in the world where there are no snakes.

Activities:

• Create lucky leprechauns out of paper and foam
• Create leprechaun playing board and use shamrocks as tic-tac-toe pieces
• Bake a shamrock cake
• Make a pot of gold table decoration
• Construct a shamrock pin from material and shamrock pattern
• Design a bingo game with St. Patrick’s day works do poster boards
• Make St. Patrick’s Day cards
• Have a party and make prepare all green foods