On March 17th we celebrate Saint Patrick's Day. Saint Patrick is Ireland's patron saint, he converted Irish people to Christianity in the 5th century.
One legend about Saint Patrick says that he used the shamrock (trébol in Spanish)
to teach the Irish about the Christian Trinity (God is three beings at the same time).
Nowadays, the shamrock is a symbol of Ireland.
In Ireland this is a very important religious holiday, people go to church and you can see many Irish flags in the street.
However, Saint Patrick's Day is not only celebrated in Ireland. In the 1840's, the Irish potato crop failed and there was a great famine. People were starving, so many of them decided to emigrate to the USA and Canada. On March 17th the Irish community in the US organizes parades in different cities. The parade of New York is the biggest in the world. In Chicago, they colour the Chicago River, imagine what colour, that's right green, another important representation of Ireland.
By the way, there is another tradition, people must wear green on Saint Patrick's
Day. You may not followed this tradition in the US, but you'll get the risk of being... pinched!
Talking about Irish symbols, two other symbols are:
1. The tricolour flag, do you know what it represents?
2. A kind of little man in green, do you know its n
ame?
Here you have a video to listen to the history of Saint Patrick's Day.
If you still want to watch more videos about Saint Patrick's Day, its meaning and traditions, click here : history of festivities
One legend about Saint Patrick says that he used the shamrock (trébol in Spanish)
to teach the Irish about the Christian Trinity (God is three beings at the same time).
Nowadays, the shamrock is a symbol of Ireland.
In Ireland this is a very important religious holiday, people go to church and you can see many Irish flags in the street.
However, Saint Patrick's Day is not only celebrated in Ireland. In the 1840's, the Irish potato crop failed and there was a great famine. People were starving, so many of them decided to emigrate to the USA and Canada. On March 17th the Irish community in the US organizes parades in different cities. The parade of New York is the biggest in the world. In Chicago, they colour the Chicago River, imagine what colour, that's right green, another important representation of Ireland.
By the way, there is another tradition, people must wear green on Saint Patrick's
Day. You may not followed this tradition in the US, but you'll get the risk of being... pinched!Talking about Irish symbols, two other symbols are:
1. The tricolour flag, do you know what it represents?
2. A kind of little man in green, do you know its n
ame?Here you have a video to listen to the history of Saint Patrick's Day.
If you still want to watch more videos about Saint Patrick's Day, its meaning and traditions, click here : history of festivities
Saint Patrick's Day! Very interesting! Thank you for enlighten us!
ReplyDeleteShamrock....a new word in my vocabulary!