What do people do on Saint Patrick’s Day?
All around the world people celebrate St. Patty’s day – not just people from Ireland or of Irish descent. They wear green clothes and eat traditional Irish food like Irish stew or corned beef and cabbage and drink Irish beer like Guinness.
FUN FACTS & SYMBOLS
– Green is part of Saint Patrick’s Day because it’s the colour of Spring and many people wear green on St Pat’s Day.
– One of the Irish traditions is to pinch anyone who is not wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day.
– The most common St Patrick’s Day symbol is the shamrock. The shamrock is a leaf from the clover plant.
– It’s a myth that the shamrock can only grow in Ireland – the three-leaf clover grows all over the world – from Tasmania to England.
– Symbols like the pot-of-gold at the end of a rainbow and leprechauns are also associated with St. Patrick’s Day.
– The leprechaun is a small Irish fairy who dresses like a shoemaker. Leprechauns are unfreindly little men who lives alone in the forest, spending time making shoes and guarding their gold treasures. If you catch a leprechaun, he’ll be forced to tell you where he hides his pots of gold. However, the leprechaun must be watched at all times. If his captor looks away, the leprechaun will vanish along with his treasure.