Traditions and Symbols of Saint Patrick’s Day – Fill in the Gaps
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On March 17, more than 150,000 people march in the New York St Patrick's Day parade, and almost a
people, all wearing green, line the streets to watch.
A green line is painted down the center of
Avenue,
and the lights on top of the
are turned green.
Typical Irish
songs like "Molly Malone (Cockles and Mussels)" are played all day on the radio.
Irish
is featured in many restaurants, served with traditional Irish coffee.
Something even more dramatic, albeit perhaps less appetizing happens when traditional American foods are prepared with green food
. For example, it's possible to see green bread, pasta, and even green eggs (!) being served to St Patrick's Day enthusiasts.
Millions of real
are flown in from Ireland to be used as decorations and to push quickly into one's button hole if one was foolish enough to forget about the special demands for attire on this day.
For every child knows that if you're not "wearin' of the green" on March 17th, you can be
by all of those who are!
After the shamrock, the
is the second most popular symbol on St Patrick's Day. The word "leprechaun" is from a mixture of "luchorpan" or "small person" and a word meaning "shoemaker". The leprechaun is an elf-like creature from Irish folklore. Unlike Santa's smiling, merry, and hard-working little elves, the leprechaun is lazy, cunning, ill-tempered, and greedy.
He
, plays tricks on people and is responsible for all kinds of domestic mischief.
Today, over forty million Americans claim that they have some Irish
. The people who have left Ireland have not forgotten their families' struggles or the rich cultural heritage which they brought with them.
They pass on the songs, the legends, and in some cases the battle cries of their ancestors, and the celebration of St Patrick's day in the United States is an all-important means of
the cultural legacy of the Irish.