23 St Patrick's Day Facts, Crafts and Lesson Plan Ideas

St. Patrick’s day facts, ideas and crafts for St Patrick’s Day, and other awesome St Patrick’s Day for kids activities! Add this to your list of lessons of fun holidays for kids to study!

a hand holding a green four leaf clover

Let’s get right to st patrick’s day traditions, background, origin and meaning!

ST. PATRICK’S DAY FACTS

What is St Patrick’s Day and why do we celebrate it?

Why is St Patrick’s Day celebrated and what is the St Patrick’s Day history? St. Patrick’s Day, also called the Feast of Saint Patrick, is both a cultural and religious day to celebrate and honor St. Patrick, a patron saint and Christian minister in Ireland. The day was made an official Christian Feast Day and commemorates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.

Why do we celebrate St Patrick’s Day in the United States?

St. Patrick’s Day is observed in the United States to celebrate Irish-American heritage and culture of the Irish. Although the holiday is from Ireland, most of the traditions were started in the United States. In America, the holiday is also referred to as St. Paddy’s Day or St. Patty’s Day.

  Affiliate links are used on this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Read more in our DISCLOSURE.  

When is St. Patrick’s Day?

St. Patrick’s Day 2020: Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Is St Patrick’s Day always March 17?

St Patrick’s Day date is always on March 17th, which is the death date of Saint Patrick, or the patron saint of Ireland.

Is St Patrick’s Day a holiday?

St. Patrick’s Day is a public holiday in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and a few other places. St. Patrick’s Day is not a federal holiday in the United States. Although not an official holiday in other countries, it is still widely celebrated in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and other countries around the world.

St Patrick’s Day Colors

Did you know that St. Patrick’s color is really blue (and not green)?

According to Time.com:

Saint Patrick’s color was blue, not green, say historians. The hue — St. Patrick’s blue, a lighter shade — can still be seen on ancient Irish flags and was used on armbands and flags by members of the Irish Citizen Army.
…But the use of green on St. Patrick’s Day began during the 1798 Irish Rebellion, when the clover became a symbol of nationalism and the ‘wearing of the green’ on lapels became regular practice.

Why do we wear green on St Patrick’s Day?

According to some, the St Patrick’s Day green that you often see on St Patricks Day outfits is because of leprechauns. Legend has it that green makes you invisible to leprechauns. If they can’t see you, then they can’t pinch you in their mischievous way. If you don’t wear green, the leprechauns can see you and pinch you! And, that’s why we traditionally pinch people who don’t wear green on St. Patrick’s Day!

What do you do on St Patrick’s Day?

St. Patrick’s Day celebrations include:

Wearing green
Looking for shamrocks
Listening to Irish music and singing traditional Irish songs
Going to parades
Visiting festivals
Looking out for leprechaun tricks
Eating and drinking (like corned beef and cabbage and soda bread)

Because Lenten restrictions are often lifted for the day, many people drink alcohol and the day has been commercialized for that as the main reason to celebrate.

(For example, they do not drink green beer in Ireland!)

Many in Ireland believe this has added a negative stereotype to the holiday.

Fun St. Patrick’s Day Trivia

St. Patrick wasn’t even Irish! He was born in Britain!
March 17th, the day the holiday is celebrated, is the day St. Patrick died.
Saint Patrick’s real name was Maewyn Succat. He changed it to Patricius after becoming a priest.
Saint Patrick’s official color was blue, not green.
Legend credits Saint Patrick with driving all the snakes out of Ireland. However, Ireland was too cold for snakes, so it is believed that Saint Patrick was driving away metaphorical snakes.
Leprechaun’s were initially described as wearing red and not green!
New York city hosts the biggest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the world.
Legend states that the three-leaf shamrock represents the Holy Trinity.
The “corn” in corn beef refers to the salt used to cure the meat, which was called “corn.”
Irish lore says that leprechauns are shoe cobblers and spend their days making/mending shoes and that’s how they earned their pot of gold.

St Patrick’s Day Sayings

A traditional saying for the holiday is, “Erin go Bragh!” It means “Ireland forever!”

St Patricks Day Food

Traditional Irish St Patrick Day food includes:

Irish Fry breakfast of bacon (“rashers”), blood sausage (also called black pudding), fried tomatoes, brown soda bread, and tea.
Irish soda bread
Scones
Roast with potatoes, peas, carrots, and gravy
Colcannon (a version of mashed potatoes)
Apple tart
Shepard’s pie
Bacon or lamb (mutton) and cabbage
Corned beef and cabbage*

*Corned beef and cabbage is not a traditional Irish dish and is an Irish-American culture dish.However, there was a traditional Irish dish of bacon and cabbage that was adapted in the U.S.

What does the rainbow mean on St Patrick’s Day?

Some say that the rainbow is a symbol of Ireland transitioning from paganism to Christianity. It is also said that leprechauns hide a pot-o-gold at the end of a rainbow.

How and Why Do We Celebrate St Patrick’s Day for Kids?

What do you give kids on St. Patrick’s Day?

A green shirt or St. Paddy’s Day t shirt (or something green to wear)
Green socks
Fun hats
Pot o Gold (chocolate) coins
Rainbow stuff
Shamrock glasses, beads, necklaces, and bracelets
Shamrock tattoos
St. Patrick’s Day book
Leprechaun book
St. Patrick’s Day crafts
St. Patty’s Day stickers
Leprechaun costume
A St. Patrick’s Day leprechaun

13 Fun St Patrick’s Day Activities for Kids

Learn about the meaning of St Patricks Day
Learn about St Patrick’s Day background and who is Saint Patrick
Study the geography of Ireland
Listen to St. Patrick’s Day music
Create a costume of green and wear it
Go to a parade
Read children’s books about St. Patrick’s Day
Build a leprechaun trap
Cook and eat corned beef and cabbage
Hunt for lucky St. Patrick’s Day clover / shamrocks
Listen to Irish music.
Watch fun Irish movies for kids.
Do Crafts for st patrick’s day

KEEP SCROLLING FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF ST. PATRICK’S DAY ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS (BELOW)!

Why is there a leprechaun on St Patrick Day?

Leprechauns are mythical creatures from Irish folklore. They are said to be small with red hair, a beard, and they wear all green and symbolize luck. There is no connection between leprechauns and the patron saint of the holiday. However, along with shamrocks, they have become symbols of St. Patrick’s Day.

Leprechauns are quite mischievous and like to play practical jokes.

They have a pot of gold that they’ve hidden. They’re hard to catch, but if a human is lucky enough to catch one, it is said that the person gets the pot of gold.

Legend has it that they will trade three wishes for their freedom.

FUN FACT: Did you know that leprechauns originally were said to wear red and not green?

According to CBSNews.com:

Leprechauns were originally depicted wearing red, not green.
In ‘Legends and Stories of Ireland,’ written in 1831, Samuel Lover describes their dress:
‘He wears a red square-cut coat, richly laced with gold, and the inexpressible of the same, cocked hat, shoes and buckles.’

What does the leprechaun bring kids?

Leprechauns may leave your kids coins, chocolate, candy, or chocolate coins (or any other treat surprises you think go along with the theme!). Leprechauns also like to leave pranks and do naughty things (like knock things over) when they visit!