Elaine Landau - Celebrating St. Patricks Day

St. Patricks Day is a holiday which celebrates St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.

In Celebrating St. Patricks Day, author Elaine Landau tells the story of St. Patrick, and the celebrations held each year on March 17th. Full color illustrations and a craft project are included to help everyone get into the spirit of St. Patricks Day.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elaine Landau is an award-winning author who has written more than 150 books for children and young adults. She has a bachelors degree in English and Journalism from NYU and an MLS in Library and Information science from Pratt Institute in New York.

St. Patricks Day is an important holiday in Ireland.

March 17 is a special day. Many people wear green that day. Classrooms and businesses are decorated in green. School cafeterias serve green Jell-O. Bakeries sell green cupcakes. In Chicago, Illinois, green dye is put into the Chicago River to turn the water green for a day. March 17 is Saint Patricks Day. It is an Irish holiday and a day for everyone to wear the color green.

Ireland is a country in Europe. It has miles of green fields and valleys. Ireland even has a special name. It is known as the Emerald Isle. Emeralds are beautiful bright green jewels.

Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean.

The Irish celebrate St. Patricks Day every year. St. Patrick is Irelands patron saint. A patron saint watches over people and places and keeps them safe. The Irish people believe not only that St. Patrick protects them, but also that he brought the Christian religion to Ireland.

St. Patricks Day is celebrated outside of Ireland, too. There are St. Patricks Day celebrations wherever Irish people live, including in the United States.

In many ways, St. Patricks Day has become an American holiday. It is not celebrated throughout the country. It is not an official government holiday like Presidents Day. Schools, banks, and businesses are all open on St. Patricks Day. The mail is delivered, too. But everyone is welcome to celebrate St. Patricks Day. Even people who are not Irish can enjoy the day. March 17 is a day for parades, parties, and having fun. So on St. Patricks Day, put on something green and join the fun!

The national flag of Ireland is called the Tricolor. The orange part stands for one of the major religious groups of Ireland, the Protestants. The green part stands for the other major religious group, the Irish Catholics. And the white part stands for peace between the people of both religions.

St. Patrick is one of the most famous people in Irish history, but he was not born in Ireland.

St. Patricks Day is an Irish holiday, but St. Patrick was not Irish. His name was not even Patrick.

St. Patrick was born somewhere in the British Isles, the area that includes England, Scotland, and Wales. Yet St. Patrick was not British, either. He was probably born in the year 385. At that time, people from Rome, Italy, ruled the land. So Patrick grew up as a Roman.

Not much is known about Patricks childhood. But we think that his name was Maewyn Succat. Patricks father was an important worker in the Roman government. Their family had a lot of money and lived in a large house by the sea. Servants waited on them.

As a boy, Patrick did not seem very saintly. He did not pray all the time. He did not always listen to the priests. However, that all changed when trouble started in Ireland, which was called Hibernia then.

Fierce fighting tribes lived in Hibernia, across the sea from the British Isles. The men of these tribes often raided other lands. They stole things, took people hostage, and returned to Hibernia, where the people were sold as slaves.

When he was just sixteen, Patrick was kidnapped by raiders from Hibernia. Some of his familys servants were taken, too. A powerful chief named Miliuc bought Patrick to Hibernia to be his slave.

Many of the ancient castles still remain in Ireland today.

Miliuc owned many sheep. Patrick became a shepherd. He watched over his masters sheep and lived outside with the animals. He made sure that the animals did not run away.

It was a hard life. There were many cold and rainy nights. Patrick felt very lonely and sad. He wondered why he had been captured. He thought that God might be punishing him. He wished that he had listened to the priests.

Patrick was a shepherd for six years. During that time, he became very religious. He prayed often and he began to have visions. He believed God was appearing before him and speaking to him.

One night, Patrick heard a special voice that brought some welcome news. The voice told Patrick he would go home soon. It told him that a ship was ready to take him home.

For six years, Patrick looked after his masters sheep.

Patrick was far away from the sea. It was dangerous for him to try to go there. A slave who ran away could be killed. But Patrick believed that God wanted him to go.

Patrick traveled over two hundred miles. Finally, he reached the sea where he found a ship waiting for him.

Patrick wanted to get on the ship. But, at first, the ships captain would not help him. He saw that Patrick was a runaway slave. Helping a runaway slave was dangerous. If the captain got caught, he could be punished.

Patrick believed that God appeared to him in visions.

Patrick left, but he did not know what to do next. So, he began to pray.

Patricks ship was wrecked because of wild storms at sea.

Perhaps Patricks prayers were heard. Suddenly people on the ship called out to him. They told Patrick to come back. The captain had changed his mind.

Patrick wanted to go home. But that did not happen. There were storms at sea, and the ship crashed.

The men ended up in a place that seemed to be deserted. There was no food in sight. It looked like they might die from hunger. Nearly a month passed, and the men grew very weak.