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History of St. Patrick's Day
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in honor of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Patrick's birth name was Maewyn Succat
and was born in Britain to wealthy parents in the late 300's. He died
on March 17, 461 A.D. When Maewyn was 16 years old, he was taken
prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were after his family's
property. They took to Ireland where he spent six years in captivity.
While a prisoner, he worked as a shepherd alone in the countryside. He
turned to Christianity for solace and became a devout Christian. He
dreamed of being an evangelist while guiding the sheep.
Maewyn
escaped and walked almost 200 miles to the Irish coast and then
returned to Britain. An angel appeared to him in a dream and told him
to return to Ireland as a missionary. He than began religious training
and was ordained as a Catholic priest in Gaul. It was at this time he
took on the name, Patrick. While in the monastery, he developed a
passion to convert the pagans of Ireland to Catholicism. At around the
age of 60, he then returned to Ireland to minister to Christians
already living in Ireland and began to convert many Irish over to
Catholicism. He used the shamrock in picture stories to describe the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
St.
Patrick believed in incorporating existing traditions into his lessons
on Catholicism. He used bonfires to celebrate Easter because they used
bonfires to honor their pagan gods at the time. He placed the symbol of
the sun onto a cross to create the Celtic cross (see photo above left)
so that the cross wouldn't seem so foreign to them. His ministry lasted
30 years until he retired to County Down.
Following
St. Patrick's death, the Irish celebrated the anniversary of his death
beginning in the fifth century with a feast. Because the date falls on
the Catholic season of Lent,
Irish families usually attended church in the morning and celebrated in
the afternoon. Because Lent forbids the consumption of meat, the
Catholic church in Ireland waived the rule so that people could drink,
dance, and feast on Irish bacon and cabbage.
Believe
it or not, but the first St. Patrick's Day parade took place in New
York City on March 17, 1762. Irish soldiers serving in the English
military marched in the parade. The parade helped the soldiers to
reconnect with their Irish roots. As Irish immigrants increased, Irish
associations began forming. Societies like the Hibernian Society and
the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick would all hold parades in various
cities. These parades featured bagpipes and drums. Most Irish
immigrants at this time were Protestants until the Great Potato Famine hit Ireland in 1845. One million poor, uneducated Catholic Irishmen began to pour into America to escape starvation.
Both
Protestant and Catholic Irishmen began to organize to give them more
political power. They formed a voting block called the "green machine."
Irish music groups and sports teams
today call themselves the "green machine." Ireland is associated with
the color green because it is identical to the greens of Ireland that
gave it the name, "The Emerald Isle." These associations united both
Protestant and Catholic Irish and St. Patrick's Day parades suddenly
became big events. In 1948, President Truman was the first president
who attended New York's St. Patty's Day parade.
Today,
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by people of all backgrounds in
countries with Irish populations. Today, in Ireland St. Patrick's Day
is a religious celebration. Up until the 1970's Irish laws forbid the
sale of alcohol on this day. In 1995, Ireland began using the holiday
to promote the country to tourists. One million people took part in
Dublin's St. Patrick's Festival. The festival included concerts,
theater, parades, and fireworks. These parades are big events in major cities around the world.
The
celebration now also includes the symbol of the shamrock and the
Leprechaun. The Leprechaun is an Irish fairy. According to legend, they
are unfriendly, live alone and make shoes as a hobby. All of them
possess a pot of gold. Legend has it that if you hear the sounds of a
shoemaker's hammer, you can often track down a leprechaun. when caught,
he can be forced to tell you where he hides his gold. However, his
captors must keep a watchful eye because he will vanish if they even
look away a second. There is a well known Irish Blessing that speaks of
leprechauns:
Near a misty stream in Ireland in the hollow of a tree
Live mystical, magical leprechauns who are clever
as can be
With their pointed ears, and turned up toes and little coats of green
The leprechauns busily make their shoes and try hard not to be seen.
Only those who really believe have seen these little elves
And if we are all believers
We can surely see for ourselves.
The number three is significant in Irish tradition. The number three is the number of leaves on a shamrock; the Crone goddess
(a pagan god whose name was Hecate), Mother and virgin; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and
Faith, Hope and Charity. The number three is an important Celtic number that is considered sacred and magical.
To be lucky on St. Patrick's Day, tradition says to wear green (you may get pinched if you don't), kiss the Blarney Stone, and catch a leprechaun.
Leprechauns
The name leprechaun (also called lurachmain, leipreachán, lurican, and lurgadhan) is a character from Irish folklore who came from an Irish word for shoemaker, "leath brogan." The leprechaun is traditionally a short man and has its origins in another Irish word, "luacharma'n," which is Irish for pygmy. The folklore is thought to have been started by the Tuatha Dé Danann, a group of people who inhabited Ireland before the Celts.
Because home-brews are an important part of life in Ireland, the old, short men are frequently shown in an intoxicated state. Originally they were shown frequently to carry around and hold a shoemaker's hammer. Leprechauns are said to be guardians of ancient treasure left by the Danes
when they robbed and pillaged people around Ireland). They bury their treasure in crocks or pots. Their treasure is said to be found at the end of a rainbow. Because they are are distrustful of everyone, they try to avoid human contact. They are absolutely petrified of being captured by a human and if captured, will try to bribe the human with their treasure on the condition they are set free. Some legends say that the leprechaun has the power of hypnotism and can confuse their targets.
Before the 20th century, leprechauns wore red clothing. They wore red square-cut coats laced in gold and with seven rows of buttons, and red crooked pointy hats, shoes, and buckles. Leprechauns carry two leather pouches. One is for a silver shilling, a magical coin that returns to the purse each time it is paid out. In the other pouch he carries a gold coin which he uses to bribe his way out of captivity. This coin later turns to dirt or leaves. Because of this, a human is wise to demand the treasure rather than be tricked with the gold coin. In order to gain any treasure, a human must keep his eye on a leprechaun at all times because they will vanish quickly if the gaze is turned.
The image we see of the green leprechaun today is largely a figment of the imagination of television and movie studios. In the Leprechaun horror film series, the character is even evil and murderous. The image of the leprechaun has become nothing like the character in Irish mythology. Some in Ireland are even resentful at the stereotype of their nation.
A cousin of the leprechaun is the cluricaun. Cluricauns steal or borrow almost anything and create chaos in homes during the hours of darkness. Their favorite hobby is to raid wine cellars and larders. They also keep sheep, goats, dogs and chickens and ride some of them through the countryside at night.
Some of the lessons below incorporate art with other subject areas. These lessons are for all subject areas.
St. Patrick's Day Lessons
Saint Patrick's Day Art
St. Patrick's Day Links
