SAINT PATRICK’S
DAY
–Shamrock and leprechaun are two symbols of Ireland.
Can you match the symbols with their descriptions?
shamrock
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is green
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leprechaun
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may bring you good luck
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St. Patrick used it to
teach about God
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has got a pot of gold
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lives in the forests of
Ireland
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is very quick
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will give you his
treasure if you catch him
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usually has three leaves
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‚–This is a short text about St. Patrick’s life. Can you put the words in
the correct order?
o
in / born / Britain / He / 4th century. /
in / was / the
o
sold / sixteen, / he / a slave. / him / When / was /
pagan raiders / as
o
and / the age / he / twenty-two, / returned to / At /
of / escaped / Britain
o
about / started / Then, / people / he / teaching / and
/ God / Christianity.
o
became / 431, / In / Ireland / he / the Bishop / of.
o
People / he / on / died / believe that / March 17th
461.
ƒ–Celebrations in Ireland.
People
around Ireland celebrate St. Patrick’s Day because he is the patron saint of
the country. There are parades in most towns and villages. A week-long St.
Patrick’s festival takes place in Dublin. It includes a firework display,
open-air music, and a traditional parade. St. Patrick’s Day parades in Ireland
started in the late 19th century.
Green is the colour of Ireland. Some people say that
you can find 40 shades of green in the Irish countryside. On St. Patrick’s Day
many people wear a bunch of shamrocks on their lapels or caps. In the past,
girls also wore green ribbons in their hair.
„–Celebrations in the US.
St. Patrick’s Day is not a national holiday in the
United States but it is a special day. The first celebrations of St. Patrick’s
Day in the American colonies took place in Boston in 1737. In New York City,
people celebrated this festival in 1756. Today the New York parade is the
largest parade in the world. In 2003, there were more than 150,000
participants, who marched up 5th Avenue in Manhattan.
Why do so many Americans celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?
Because many Americans have Irish origins. In the 1840s many people from
Ireland emigrated to the United States because they did not have enough
food.
Today, the Irish people in the US remember their
country.
