St. Patrick

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St. Patricks Day

• History and Traditions

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Who was St. Patrick?

• St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland.
• He converted many Irish to Christianity in the
  fifth century.
• St. Patrick incorporated traditional Celtic
  symbols, like the bonfire and the sun, into his
  Christian teachings.
• St. Patrick died on March 17, circa 462.
• St. Patricks Day is the saints feast day and
  has evolved from a religious holiday to a
  worldwide celebration.

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St. Patricks Day Traditions

• Christians attend church in the morning and
  celebrate in the afternoon, although pubs in
  Ireland were closed on March 17 by law until
  1995.
• The rules of Lent are waived and revelers
  traditionally eat Irish bacon and cabbage.
• The first St. Pattys Day parade occurred when
  Irish soldiers in the British army marched
  through New York City on March 17, 1762.
• The Chicago River has been dyed green every year
  since 1962.

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St. Patricks Day Symbols
The shamrock, or seamroy, symbolizes the
rebirth of spring. It was later adopted as a
symbol of Irish nationalism.
The leprechaun, or lobaircin was a cranky,
small-bodied fellow of Celtic folklore, given
its cute features and popularized in the United
States by Walt Disney.
The Celtic Cross a sun (from the Celts)
super-imposed on a cross (from the Christians)
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St. Patricks Day Symbols
St. Patrick never drove snakes from Ireland the
story is a metaphor for driving paganism from the
island.
The traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage
has been modified in the United States. Irish
bacon has been replaced with corned beef for the
annual feast.
Music has always been an important part of Irish
life. Irish music is produced with instruments
like the fiddle, the uilleann pipes, the tin
whistle, and the bodhran.
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Irish Names

• There are 34 million U.S. residents who claim
  Irish ancestry, second only to German.
• Some Irish names
• Corey Gaelic for ravine
• Douglas from the Gaelic name Dubhghlas (dark
  river or blood river)
• Brent derived from an English place name which
  meant hill in Celtic
• Bryan possibly related to the Old Celtic
  element bre meaning hill high, noble
• Kevin from Old Irish coem (kind, gentle,
  handsome) and gein (birth)

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Instructions

• Print out the slides and cut out on the dotted
  lines. Also cut out the title on each slide.
• Arrange the facts however you would like on your
  bulletin board.
• Include background information about various
  Irish names of residents on your floor.
• Historical information from www.historychannel.com
  Name information from www.behindthename.com
• Images collected from various sources.

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Bulletin Board submitted by Mike Hillman,
Resident Assistant Elizabethtown College