St. Patrick's Day

Background

The day is named after St. Patrick, who was born around the year 386 AD, possibly in Scotland. The short version of his significance is that he is credited for bringing Christianity to Ireland and is said to have used the three-leaf shamrock in his teachings. Legend has it that St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland.

In the U.S., St. Patrick's Day has long been a day when people of Irish heritage have celebrated their connection to the country of Ireland.

Over the years, whole communities in the U.S. joined in the celebration with parades, parties, and an embrace of Irish lore. Cities with large Irish-American populations often paved the way. Chicago even dyes the Chicago River green! While it's not an "official" holiday in the U.S., St. Patrick's Day is embraced across the country.

St. Patrick's Day was traditionally a somber religious holiday in Ireland, but today, Ireland celebrates the national holiday with bank and school closures, parades, and festivals.

You and your kids could:

(Always preview for suitability for your own family)

• Watch a video. Watch an animated St. Patrick's Day YouTube video for kids to learn about the religious origins of the holiday, such as this video: "St. Patrick's Day"
• Build a leprechaun trap. Read the book How to Trap a Leprechaun with your littles or watch and listen to a video reading of the book. Help your kids create a "leprechaun trap" to catch the mythical creatures that are part of Irish lore. Older kids can play along and build their own traps or assist the younger ones.
• Read a history article. Have teens read this History Channel article about St. Patrick's Day, or read it aloud to tweens. Great background for parents to know, even if you just sprinkle a little of the information into conversation as you're making a shamrock craft.
• Listen to a podcast. Listen to podcasts about St. Patrick's Day, or more generally about Celtic myths, folklore, and legends. Remember to preview!
  • "St. Patrick and the Snakes" episode from the Stories Podcast for kids. Includes some dark fairy tale-type wording and religiosity that could bother sensitive kids but no graphic details.
  • Journey with Story children's storytelling podcast. We've filtered results on their page to help you find the episodes created for St. Patrick's Day.
  • Celtic Myths and Legends Podcast. Includes retellings of myths and legends with scholarly explanations of folklore from the six Celtic nations—Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall, Brittany and the Isle of Man. Best for teens and some more serious tweens. There's some literary value here.
• Gather. Have a St. Patrick's Day dinner or party—this easy Shepherd's Pie is delicious.
  • Cook and eat green foods or traditional St. Patrick's Day fare such corned beef, cabbage, soda bread, or bread pudding.
  • Decorate the table with green and St. Patrick's symbols.
• Listen to Irish music. Check out this Spotify playlist of Celtic music for children: Traditional Irish and Scottish Folk Music.
• Explore dance. Learn about Irish dance and Irish-influenced dance in the U.S.
  • Irish dance came to the U.S. and combined with African and Native American dance traditions to evolve as "flat footing," "buck dancing," "tap dancing," or "clogging" in the U.S. Watch parts of the documentary Talking Feet. The full length doc will be too long for most kids, but you could skip around to show the influence of Irish dance in Appalachian culture.
  • Contact a dance studio to see if you and your kids can watch their next performance or visit a class. ClogDancing.com has a directory of clogging instructors.
  • Watch Riverdance videos featuring Irish step-dance and music.
  • Watch "The Story of Tap Dance, Step by Step" for a five minute overview on how tap dance connects to American history.
  • Dance families could even read an article about the differences and similarities in clogging, Irish dance, and tap dance.
• Read St. Patrick's Day books. The Chicago Public Library has a list of St. Patrick's Day Books for Kids, recommending good books about leprechauns and Irish folklore. What books does your library recommend for St. Patrick's Day?
• Bust some St. Patrick's Day myths. Read aloud (or assign reading to older kids) this article from National Geographic Kids on St. Patrick's Day traditions and the truth behind some of the folklore.
• Make St. Patrick's Day crafts. We've gathered a selection of fun St. Patrick's Day crafts below.

For advanced study with a teen in the U.S., consider using The Story We Carry in Our Bones: Irish History for Americans by Juilene Osborne-McKnight as a spine.