The person who was to become St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was born in Wales about AD 385. He died on March 17 in AD 461. That day has been commemorated as St. Patrick’s Day ever since. St. Patrick is said to have given a sermon from a hilltop that drove all the snakes from Ireland. Of course, no snakes were ever native to Ireland. Though originally a Catholic holy day, St. Patrick’s Day has evolved into more of a secular holiday. It has been celebrated in the US since 1737. One traditional icon of the day is the shamrock. And this stems from a more bona fide Irish tale that tells how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day. For fun ideas for celebrating with children see the Kids section on this blog.

Now,for a little bit of trivia,try to answer the following questions:
(answers found in the kids section of this blog)

1. When is St Patrick’s day celebrated?

2. Where is it celebrated? Name five countries.

3. How many colours does the Irish flag have? What do they mean?

4. How can you celebrate St Patrick’s Day?

5. Name some traditional foods and drinks for this day.

6. Name at least three symbols related to St Patrick’s Day.

EXTRA QUESTION:
* Can you name two important Irish rock groups? ( one from the 80s and another one from the 90s)

Trivia found on 4teachers.org website