St Patrick's Day

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Description

Information about St Patrick and Games to play


Resources

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Instructions

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on 17 March.

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in the whole of Ireland on 17 March, in honour of St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.

Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. He was born in Wales somewhere around AD 385. He was carried off by pirates and spent six years in slavery before escaping and training as a missionary.

The national emblem of Ireland is the Shamrock. Patrick used the three-leaved shamrock to explain how the Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit could exist as separate parts of the same being. His followers took to wearing a shamrock in celebration.

St Patrick's day is marked by the wearing of shamrocks (a clover-like plant), the national emblem of both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

St.Patrick’s Day is celebrated with parades in the large cities, the wearing of the green and drinking Guinness (traditional drink of Ireland).

Potatoes and Ireland:
The potato famine of 1846 to 1852 hit Ireland and Scotland. Many poor people grew potatoes for food. Potatoes grew on poor soil, even in wet and cold conditions.

When a potato disease (blight) arrived, possibly in ships from America, it was a disaster. Potatoes went rotten, and were not fit to eat. People went hungry. More than 1 million people starved to death. Many more got sick. In Ireland, one in four people died or emigrated. The potato famine was one of the most terrible events in Irish history.

What are crisps made from??? We are going to have a snack later of crisps and leprechaun juice!!

A leprechaun is a type of fairy in Irish folklore, usually taking the form of an old man, clad in a red or green coat, who enjoys partaking in mischief. The Leprechauns spend all their time busily making shoes, and store away all their coins in a hidden pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. If ever captured by a human, the Leprechaun has the magical power to grant three wishes in exchange for their release.

Games:

The Giants' Causeway (The Colony Programme Plus p.32)
Put Beavers into smal teams. Each team has two sheets of newspaper. The teams need to get from one end of the hall to the other by only stepping on the giant stones (newspaper).
They all step on one sheet, put the second sheet in front of them, all step onto it, and repeat. If any Beaver 'falls in the water', the team has to start again.

Leprechauns
Need a blindfold, a 'pot of gold'
Blindfold a Beaver - the leprechaun - sit them in the middle of a large circle with the pot of gold.
Another Beaver is selected to be the catcher, they must enter the circle to steal the gold without being detected.
The leprechaun can use his magic powers to turn the catcher into an animal at any time, the catcher and all the other children must make the noise of the animal they have been turned into. The leprechaun can change the animal as many times as he wants to.

Irish musical statues
Dancing in the style of Irish dancing to Irish music!!!


Tags

  • Festival
  • Ireland
  • Pippins

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