St. Patrick’s Day
In Dublin, Ireland, people wear shamrocks. In Chicago, U.S.A., the river is dyed green. It’s St. Patrick’s Day, a time to wear a bit of green and enjoy Irish traditions.
The colour green is a reminder of the beautiful green countryside of Ireland. It is also the colour of the shamrock, the clover-like plant that is the national symbol of Ireland.
In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is a holy day. People attend religious services. Saint Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint brought Christianity to Ireland. In many U.S. and Canadian cities, people celebrate with parades and enjoy Irish music and foods. In New York City, more than a hundred bands and a hundred thousand marchers join in the St. Patrick’s Day parade along Fifth Avenue. The parade lasts for hours.
Religious symbols include snakes and serpents, as well as the Celtic cross. Some say that Saint Patrick added the Sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross. Other Irish-related symbols seen on St Patrick’s Day include the harp, which was used in Ireland for centuries, as well as a mythological creature known as the leprechaun and a pot of gold that the leprechaun keeps hidden.
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