St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner and while this is traditionally an Irish holiday it is widely celebrated worldwide. In the USA, it’s a holiday full of leprechauns and rainbows. Now while most people use St. Patrick’s Day as a day to celebrate everything Irish, there is actually a story behind the day. Saint Patrick, one of Ireland’s most cherished saint who ministered Christianity in the fifth century, a very long time ago, died on March 17th. That day is now celebrated as St. Patrick’s Day. If you would love to teach your kids about St. Patrick’s Day, here are a few ideas:
Do a Country Study: One way to teach your kids about St. Patrick’s Day is to do a country study. One thing you will learn about St. Patrick’s Day is that every country celebrates it a little differently. Some countries have parades, others have festivals, while of course celebrating the color green. Focus on a few countries with your child and study their St. Patty’s Day culture.
Read St. Patrick’s Day Books: If you would love for your kids to understand and separate fact from fiction, there are a few books you can read together to help do that. One of them being Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland, it’s a very easy read and told in language that is easy to understand. For a bit more fun you can check out three of our favorite St. Patrick’s Day Books for kids.
St. Patrick’s Day Trivia: Another way you can teach your kids about St. Patrick’s Day is by having a trivia day. After you’ve done your country study and read your books, you can sit down and teach your kids some other fun things they will love about St. Patrick’s Day. After you have done this, have a little trivia day with fun little St. Patrick’s Day themed prizes. This can be a day you can pass out a mini bag of skittles representing a rainbow.
Wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day: Now it’s been claimed that leprechauns can’t see you if you wear the color green. Apparently if you’re not wearing green then they can sneak up and pinch you. It’s why almost everyone wears the color green on St. Patrick’s Day, the day most celebrated with leprechauns. Let your kids wear green and let them know it’s been happening for centuries. Pretty cool!
Spend Time Doing Crafts: Kids love crafts and St. Patty’s Day is an excellent time for this. Shamrocks, clovers, leprechauns, and anything green can all be part of the fun when it comes to doing St. Patrick’s Day crafts. I’ve seen some really cute ones on Pinterest!
Pretend to Be Irish If You’re Not: One of the really cool things I loved discovering about St. Patrick’s Day is that it was brought over from the Irish culture. You can do traditional Irish meals such as corned beef and cabbage or even the very traditional shepherds pie.
St. Patrick’s Day doesn’t have to be a serious holiday for those of you who aren’t Irish. There is so much fun to be had on St. Patrick’s Day just for the plain fact that you get to wear green, hide from leprechauns and chase rainbows. If you’ve never celebrated St. Patrick’s Day before, I encourage you to get up and head to a parade or throw a little party with your kids.
Let’s discuss: How do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?
