St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17th. It originated as a Christian holiday but has also become a celebration of Irish culture. Traditions include wearing green, eating Irish foods like bacon and cabbage, drinking beer, and attending parades. The shamrock symbolizes the Christian holy trinity and was used by St. Patrick to explain it to the Irish. St. Patrick established Christianity in Ireland in the 5th century and is credited with banishing snakes from the island.

1. ST PATRICK'S DAY
Jack

2. St Patrick's Day
● It is celebrated on every
17
th
March. It is celebrated
by Irish people, but it is
also celebrated in many
countries. People wear
green clothes, eat Irish
food, drink Irish beer and
go to parades.
Robert

3. St Patrick
● He is the patron Saint of Ireland.
St. Patrick was born in 385 AD in
Wales. At 16, some pirates
captured him and sold him into
slavery to a sheep farmer. He
escaped when he was 22 and
spent the next 12 years in a
monastery. At 30 he went to
Ireland as a Christian missionary.
He died at Saul on the 17
th
of
March in 461 AD and is buried at
Downpatrick.
Lewis

4. The shamrock
● The national emblem of Ireland
and Northern Ireland is the
Shamrock. Patrick used the three-
leaved shamrock to explain how
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
could exist as separate parts of
the same being. His followers
wore a shamrock in celebration.
This day people wear shamrocks
when they celebrate.
Don

5. The snakes
● Saint Patrick is most
known for driving the
snakes from Ireland.
Serpent symbols were
common in Celtic peoples.
Driving the snakes from
Ireland is a symbol of
putting an end to the
pagan practice.
Sebastian

6. Green Colour
● Why do people wear
green? Green is the color of
spring, the shamrock, and is
connected with hope and
nature. Ireland is often called
the "Emerald Isle" because
its landscape is very green.
Jack

7. The Celtic Cross
● It is a popular legend that
the Celtic Catholic cross was
introduced by Saint Patrick.
St Patrick combined the cross
with the sun to give pagans
an idea of the importance of
the cross.
Lewis

8. The leprechaun
● A leprechaun looks like a little
old man and dresses like a
shoemaker. Leprechauns are
very unfriendly. They live alone
and pass the time by mending
the shoes of Irish fairies. The
fairies pay the leprechauns for
their work with golden coins,
which the "little people" collect
in large pots.
Sebastian

9. The Traditions
● People attend mass in the
morning and celebrate in the
afternoon. They eat Irish bacon
and cabbage and they drink
black beer. Some rivers are
dyed green. There are parades
in many Irish cities and towns,
but there are very big parades
in many American cities, too.
Don

10. The Parade
● The first St. Patrick's Day
parade was not in Ireland but
in the United States. Irish
soldiers serving in the English
military marched through New
York City on March 17, 1762.
Today, many people go out to
see the parade where you can
find many customs, Irish music
with bagpipes, soldiers, Irish
flags, Irish culture.
Robert

11. Chicago
Chicago has a large Irish-American population.
There is a parade on St. Patrick’s day and the
river is dyed green.
Jack

12. Prayer
Today we claim the power of God to hold us and to lead us,
His eye to watch us – His might to strengthen us,
His ear to hear our needs – His wisdom to teach us,
His hand to guide us – His shield to defend us,
His Word to give us speech – His Spirit to move us.
Christ be with us, Christ within us, Christ behind us,
Christ before us, Christ beside us, Christ to win us,
Christ to comfort and restore us, Christ beneath us,
Christ above us, Christ in the hearts of all that love us,
Christ in the mouth of friends and strangers to us.
Jesus we cry out this St Patrick’s day for your Spirit to move through us,
Jesus pour out your Spirit over our land again,
Jesus rise up in us an adventurous spirit in how we share you with others,
Jesus rise up in us an urgency and energy and wildness of passion for your name like that of St Patrick
and our forefathers.
Lewis