I hope everyone had a wonderful Saint Patrick’s Day! (I know it was two weeks ago, but this year has been a little crazy, right?) The morning of Saint Patrick’s Day I totally forgot what day it was and sent Ava off to school with absolutely no green. I had even bought her a jazzy green shamrock t-shirt LAST YEAR (it was on sale) in preparation for this day and it just slipped my mind. She’s two so I don’t think she cared, but I did!
Anyways, I still want to share this post about Saint Patrick’s Day and some great books to celebrate the day with your kids. You can always save it to read for next year then totally forget about it, right?!
What is Saint Patrick’s Day and Why do we celebrate It?
Saint Patrick’s Day is observed by many countries throughout the world to celebrate Irish culture. Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. He is most known for converting the country to Christianity in the 5th century. March 17th (a.k.a. Saint Patrick’s Day) is remembered as the date of his death.
In the United States, Saint Patrick’s Day is a day to celebrate Irish-American culture with parades, shamrocks, leprechauns, wearing green, drinking green beer, and everything Irish. America has one of the largest Irish immigrant populations; in the 1840s almost half of the immigrants coming to American were from Ireland.
Why do We Wear Green on Saint Patrick’s Day?
According to legend, leprechauns like to go around pinching people on Saint Patrick’s Day. Leprechauns cannot see the color green, so if you’re wearing green you become “invisible” to the pinching leprechauns. We get to pinch people not wearing green to remind them to put on something green before the leprechauns find them and pinch them!
Four-Leaf Clovers
The shamrock (a.k.a. three-leaf-clover) has long been associated with Ireland. It is said that St. Patrick used the three leaves of the shamrock as a visual guide to explain the holy trinity. Four-leaf clovers are associated with “the luck of the Irish” because supposedly four-leaf clovers are more prevalent in Ireland.
Corned Beef & Cabbage
This meal is a great example of the great melting pot of America. While cabbage is a traditional Irish food, in Ireland it is traditionally served with ham or bacon. When Irish immigrants flocked to New York City during the potato famine, they were very poor, and on advice from their Jewish neighbors, they substituted much cheaper corned beef in place of the traditional ham.
Whether you have Irish ancestry or just like the color green, Saint Patrick’s Day is a great way to celebrate Irish heritage and culture. Here are some of my favorite children’s books to read on Saint Patrick’s Day.
THe Best Saint Patrick’s Day Leprechaun Books
The Best Saint Patrick’s Day History & Folklore Books
The Best Overall Saint Patrick’s Day Books
The Best Saint Patrick’s Day Board Books
As always, thanks for reading, I really appreciate all my visitors! On a side note, one thing I really enjoy about blogging is the opportunity to learn new things. Today I learned how to correctly spell Leprechaun, and it will forever be burned into my brain!
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