Shamrocks, saint and shillelaghs
St. Patrick's Day, celebrated on March 7, honors Ireland's patron saint who died
on that day in 461. Icons of the Irish holiday and the history of St. Patrick:
Shamrock
Irish flag
• Small, three-leafed • Green stands
for Catholics; orange
herb appears on
United Kingdom's coat tor Protestants; white
Of arms with English
for WISh for harmony
rose, Scottish thistle
Patrick: Saint and legend
Leprechauns
• Fairies who
work day and night
mending shoes
Of other faires
Shillelagh (shi-lay'-lee)
• Walking stick; word is
Irish for stout oak club
or cudgel; also name ot
a forest that once stood
in County Wicklow
m: Born in Britain to
a Roman family; his
father served as a
magistrate; his original
name was Maewyn
Early 400s: Taken
to Ireland as a slave;
after six years, he
escaped to France
where he studied
for priesthood
Siillelaghs• by Edna Barth,
432: Sent to Ireland as a Christian
missionary by Pope Celestine l,
who named him Patricius, which
means noble in Latin; he
introduced Roman alphabet, Latin
literature; Christianized land
Familiar legend
He drove the
snakes from
Ireland by
beating a drum
c 2002 KRT
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