Irish Holidays
The Irish like to celebrate as much as anyone, and have enough holidays to keep themselves busy throughout the year.
The biggest Holiday export from Ireland is obviously St. Patrick’s Day. While most people think of St. Patrick’s day as being a holiday about wearing green, doodling Leprechauns, and pinching one another, it has a much longer and more interesting history.
The St. Patrick’s Day Holiday falls on March 17th, and was originally created to honor St. Patrick, who is recognized as having brought Christianity to Ireland. St. Patrick is now represented by the color green, which is why people celebrate by wearing green. A story is told about how St. Patrick used a three-leaf clover or shamrock to teach the Celtic Irish about Christianity, which is why today, especially on St. Patrick’s Day, the symbol of the clover is so common.
Today, St. Patrick’s Day has become a celebration of Irish culture more than anything. It is a chance for the rest of the world to really immerse themselves in the Irish food and drink, song, dance, and even language.
The biggest celebration of St. Patrick’s Day takes place in Dublin with plenty of parades and celebration, but it is celebrated all over the country.
Many other holidays that are practiced elsewhere also take place in Ireland. The Celtic tradition is actually one of the earliest times when Halloween was practiced. Originally, Halloween had a very different meaning. Since the early people of Ireland were Celtic, they were very rooted to the land, and Halloween was a festival that was practiced to mark the end of the harvest season, and the beginning of winter.
This origin of Halloween, called Samhain, was also a time when people honored the spirits of those no longer living. This connection isn’t too hard to see with the modern version of Halloween. Today, there are some people who still celebrate Samhain, though most people celebrate Halloween.
On December 26th, Ireland celebrates what is known as St. Stephen’s Day. Many countries celebrate this holiday, though in Ireland it is sometimes called Day of The Wren, or Wren’s Day. The day is set aside to honor St. Stephen, who was an important figure to early Christianity. Day of the Wren is celebrated with people dressing up in straw hats and clothing, enjoy parades, song, and dance, all themed around the symbol of the Wren.
In Ireland, Easter Sunday is a very important Holiday, as is Good Friday, which comes two days before. Good Friday (also known as Black Friday) is a solemn Christian Holiday used to commemorate the death of Jesus. On this holiday, many businesses are closed, and it is often seen as a day of rest.
Easter Sunday, marking the resurrection of Jesus in the Christian faith, is also very important in Ireland. Many of the symbols of the holiday, such as eggs and rabbits, are actually Celtic symbols. Just like how Halloween had its origins tied to the end of the harvest season, Easter also marks the end of winter, and the beginning of Spring. This is why the symbols of the rabbit and the egg exist, because they are both symbols of growth.
Online Irish lessons for kids: dinolingo.com
