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Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland

March 10, 2015

If there’s ever a time you wish you were Irish, it’s on St. Patrick’s Day. Can you think of a better time to visit Ireland than during the one national holiday that is celebrated in more countries around the world than any other?

St Patrick’s Day honours the life of Ireland’s most recognised patron saint on March 17th. Parades, activities, wearing green attire and shamrocks are all part of the celebrations. Festivities will have many folks around the world raising a glass of green beer.

In Dublin, the St. Patrick’s Festival is a multi-disciplinary arts festival, taking place annually over four to five days. The festival reflects the talents and achievements of Irish people on the world stage, and it acts as an exciting showcase for the people of Ireland. This year, the Festival runs March 14 to 17, 2015, or start planning for next year’s festival March 16 to 20, 2016!

I would love to see Ireland first-hand, perhaps during St. Patrick’s Day celebrations but more so during the spring or summer when the landscape is lush and green!

Dublin isn’t the only place in Ireland that celebrates St Patrick’s Day. Dingle’s dwellers start early with the day’s first parade at 6:00 a.m. while Belfast, Galway, Cork and Derry-Londonderry all host festivals that would make any heart glow green with pride.

While Dublin would be a fun festival because of its grandness, I would also enjoy a more quaint celebration in a small town like Dingle!

For more information on the festivals, visit St. Patrick’s Festival or Ireland.com.

activities

Easy St. Patrick’s Day Craft for Young Kids: Blarney Stone

March 13, 2013

by Darlene Morrison

Are you looking for an easy craft to do with your little ones this St. Patrick’s Day?

This craft is easy and it is a lot of fun for the kids too! I wanted to find a craft I could do with my children that was fun but didn’t require spending a lot of money to buy supplies.

The Blarney Stone is a block of bluestone built into the battlements of Blarney Castle in Ireland. According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the “gift of the gab”.

Here is an easy St. Patrick’s Day craft for young kids – how to make a blarney stone!

Supplies needed:

A smooth, clean rock

Paint brush

Green paint

Glue

Markers

Glitter, sequins, plastic jewels, googly eyes, bits of yarn, etc.

Instructions:

1. Make sure your rock is clean and dry. Paint the rock green. My daughters and I walked around the neighbourhood and found some smooth rocks we could use for this project. We washed and dried the rocks and then began the project.

2. After the paint is dry, decorate your rock using glitter, sequins, beads, plastic jewels, googly eyes, bits of yarn, or other interesting items. We had googly eyes, feathers, sequins, yarn, and pipe cleaners.

3. When the paint and glue are dry, add details (like eyebrows, etc.) using markers.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Darlene Morrison is a mother of four who resides in Newmarket, Ontario with her family. She loves cooking, running, reading and writing. Find her on Twitter or her blog.

Holidays

Slainte! Five Things You Need to Know About St. Patrick’s Day

March 17, 2011

Saint Patrick’s Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on March 17. It is named after Saint Patrick (c. AD 387–461), the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland. It is observed by the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland), the Eastern Orthodox Church and Lutherans.

Saint Patrick’s Day was made an official feast day in the early 17th century, and has gradually become a celebration of Irish culture in general. Can’t forget the ~~drinking~~ music too!

The day is generally characterized by the attendance of church services, wearing of green attire, especially shamrocks, and the lifting of Lenten restrictions on fasting and drinking, which is often proscribed during the rest of the season.

Sláinte is commonly used as a drinking toast in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, literally translating as “health”. Variations of this toast exist, it can for example be expanded to sláinte mhaith “good health” in Irish (mhaith being the lenited form of maith “good”).

The shamrock (♣) is a symbol of Ireland. It is a three-leafed old white clover. The name shamrock is derived from Irish seamróg, which is the diminutive version of the Irish word for clover (seamair).

The four leaf clover is an uncommon variation of the common, three-leaved shamrock, also known as clover. According to tradition, such leaves bring good luck to their finders, especially if found accidentally.

Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness (1725–1803) at St. James’s Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide.

Corned beef and cabbage is not a traditional Irish meal, it has been an integral part of Irish-American culture and is often related to Irish holidays such as Saint Patrick’s Day. In Ireland, the closest traditional dish is bacon and cabbage (more akin to Canadian style bacon or ham). Corned beef and cabbage became popular in America after Irish immigrants in the eastern United States used corned beef instead of pork in their traditional dish.

Source: Wikipedia