Transcript Document

ST PATRICK’S DAY
ST PATRICK’S DAY
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on
March 17, as a religious feast day
and the anniversary of the saint’s
death in the fifth century. The Irish
have observed this day as a
religious holiday for over a
thousand years.
On St. Patrick's Day, which falls
during the Christian season of
Lent, Irish families would
traditionally attend church in the
morning and celebrate in the
afternoon. Lenten prohibitions
against the consumption of meat
were waived and people would
dance, drink, and feast—on the
traditional meal of Irish bacon and
cabbage.
History of St Patrick
•
Patrick was born in Britain in the
year 387. His real name is
Maewyn Succat. The name St.
Patrick was given to him later in
life by Pope Celestine. His
parents, Calphurnius and
Conchessa belonged to a high
ranking Roman family. When he
was 16, he was captured by
pagan Irish raiders and sold into
slavery to a chieftain named
Meliuc in Antrim , Ireland. He
spent his teen years and time
alone as a shepherd to tend to his
master's sheep. During this time,
his spirituality awakened and his
belief in God became strong.
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After 6 years being in slavery, he
returned to his family and home.
He became a priest and, in 432,
he was made a bishop by Pope
Celestine, who sent him on a
mission back to Ireland. He
suffered many trials as a
missionary in Ireland. Patrick was
imprisoned by the Druids but
managed to escape.
Later on, he won favour with the
local kings. He spent the next 28
years travelling across the
countryside to spread the word of
God. He could do this easily as he
was fluent with the Celtic
language. He succeeded in
converting almost the entire
population of the island.
Although Patrick was born British,
he considered himself Irish
because it was in Ireland that he
discovered God.
St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin
• Legend has it that St. Patrick would
use the shamrock to explain the Trinity
- Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The word
"shamrock" comes from the Gaelic
word "seamrog“ meaning "trefoil"
(three leafed) or "little clover".
• The shamrock was also a sacred plant
among the Druids. Shamrock is the
national flower of Ireland. Many Irish
people wear a shamrock on St.
Patrick's Day.
• It was through the retelling of the
Trinity story that the shamrock became
associated with St. Patrick and
Ireland's conversion to Christianity. As
a result, the shamrock is a widely used
to commemorate Saint Patrick's Day,
and in modern times has been
appropriated by secular institutions as
a symbol for the Irish.
• However, the shamrock is not the
official Irish national emblem, the harp
having that honour
• Another legend Patrick is most
known for is driving the snakes
from Ireland. Some tales tell
that he stood on a hill and
used a wooden staff to drive
the snakes into the sea and
banished them forever from
Ireland. Another legend says
that one snake resisted.
Patrick then tricked it into
entering a small box and cast it
into the sea. It is true that
Ireland has no snakes.
• However, the snake as a celtic
symbol does exist,
representing the process of
creation, rebirth, fertility and
healing, that is, the cyclical
nature of life
THE LUCK OF THE IRISH
• If you want to have the luck of
the Irish this St. Patrick's Day,
follow this advice:
• 1. Find a four-leaf clover.
• 2. Wear green (so you don't
get pinched!!).
• 3. Kiss the blarney stone.
• 4. Catch a Leprechaun if you
can.
1. A FOUR-LEAF CLOVER
• Although clovers are most often found in nature with three leaves,
rare four-leaf clovers do exist. Finding one is thought to bring
someone extreme luck. The folklore for four-leaf clovers differs from
that of the Shamrock due to the fact that it has no religious allusions
associated with it. It is believed that each leaf of a four-leaf clover
represents something different: first is hope, the second is faith, the
third is love, and the fourth is happiness.
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2. WEAR GREEN
So why do we all wear green?
Probably because you'll be
pinched if you don't! School
children started this tradition.
Green is also the color of spring,
the shamrock, and is connected
with hope and nature. Historically,
green has been a color used in
the flags of several revolutionary
groups in Ireland and as a result it
appears in the official tri-color
country flag, adopted in 1919.
In addition to that, Ireland is often
called the "Emerald Isle" due to
the lush natural greenery found on
the island. One of the things that
strikes people all the time is how
Ireland is incredibly green--it's
very far north, but it doesn't get
frozen. When people say that
'Ireland has 40 shades of green,'
they are right!
3. KISS THE BLARNEY STONE
• The Blarney Stone is a block
of bluestone built into the
battlements of Blarney Castle,
Blarney about 8 km from Cork,
Ireland. According to legend,
kissing the stone endows the
kisser with the gift of the gab
(great eloquence or skill at
flattery). The stone was set
into a tower of the castle in
1446. The castle is a popular
tourist site in Ireland, attracting
visitors from all over the world
to kiss the Stone and tour the
castle and its gardens.
• The word blarney has come to
mean clever, flattering, or
coaxing talk.
4. CATCH A LEPRECHAUN
• Just what does a mythical
leprechaun look like and why
are they so special? A
leprechaun looks like a little
old man and dresses like a
shoemaker with a cocked hat
and leather apron. A
Leprechaun's personality is
described as aloof and
unfriendly. They live alone and
pass the time by mending the
shoes of Irish fairies.
• Pronunciation:
– /’lep-rə-kän, kȯn/
• The legend is that the fairies
pay the leprechauns for their
work with golden coins, which
the "little people" collect in
large pots--the famous "pots of
gold" often associated with
leprechauns.
• If you listen closely for the
sound of their hammer you
might be able to capture one. If
you do you can force him (with
the threat of bodily violence) to
reveal where he's hidden his
treasure. Be careful! Do not
take your eyes off him for if
you do he will surely vanish
and your hopes of finding his
treasure will vanish with him.
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Among the most popular of beliefs
about leprechauns is that they are
extremely wealthy and like to hide
their gold in secret locations,
which can only be revealed if a
person were to actually capture
and interrogate a leprechaun for
its money. Another popular belief
is that you may find a leprechaun
and his pot of gold at the end of a
rainbow.
Some of the Leprechauns
mythical power's include magical
control over the intricate workings
of the Earth and the materials that
reside there i.e. gold, silver... In
several Irish myths Leprechauns
have a power of hypnotism or
trickery that confuses their target
either allowing the Leprechaun to
escape or just to play tricks on
unsuspecting victims.
LET’S ALL BE IRISH FOR ONE DAY
• Saint Patrick's Day is
celebrated worldwide by Irish
people and increasingly by
non-Irish people (usually in
Australia and North America).
Celebrations are generally
themed around all things Irish
and, by association, the colour
green.
• The St. Patrick's Day parade
was first held in Boston in
1761.
The
• Today, the New York parade is
Chicago
the largest, typically drawing
River is
two million spectators and
dyed
150,000 marchers.
green on
• As the saying goes:
St
Patrick’s
Day
EVERYONE’S IRISH
ON ST PATRICK’S DAY!!!
Let’s paint this year the school green
on the happiest day it has ever seen
Happy St Patrick's Day!
THE END
Happy St Patrick's Day
Happy St Patrick's Day