World Wide Celebration

St. Patrick’s Day

March 17th of Every Year

• St. Patrick’s Day celebrated

• People from all over the world…– Share symbols– Tell stories– Engage in Irish activities

Who really was St. Patrick• Was he even Irish?

• When did he appear in history?

• Why was he so important?

• Why do people remember him now?

• Why is March 17th so important?

St. Patrick

• Born in Great Brittan to a rich family

• He began going to school

• Was not particularly that special of a kid

Well then why is he so important

• When he was 16 he was kidnapped by raiders for ransom.

• His parents would not pay.

• He was sold into slavery in Ireland

Irish Slavery

• He never say his parents again

• He stayed enslaved for the next 6 years

• He was a herdsman for a flock of sheep (Sheppard)

The Faith

• He was a catholic as a boy.

• Over his 6 years in Irish slavery he grew a strong faith

• He studied the Bible and learned more & more about the faith

His Vision• One night alone in his bed he had a

vision

• In his vision he was directed to fast for 30 days.

• He was then told to escape from his slave master during the night

• There would be a ship waiting for him

• 200 miles

• Had no map & knew no route (followed the direction of the Lord)

The Ship• He reached the ship at night fall 4 days later.

• He boarded the ship as was directed in his dreams.

• The Captain stopped him.

• Have you no money to pay the fare.

• Patrick had no money

• He was told “in no means try to board this ship”

• So Patrick left the ship & headed for a hut.

• He was stopped in the village where the hut was and told that the men of the ship were calling for him.

Back in Great Brittan

• The ship docked in Great Brittan

• St. Patrick got out and found a Christian monastery that took him in.

• He became a priest

Missions

• He led many mission trips to try to convert people to Catholicism.

• Used the Shamrock to distinguish Holy Trinity

• Everywhere he went Miracles happened.

Miracles

• He banished snakes from an island

• Rose people from the dead.

• He converted countless people to Christianity

Story of his death• Died March 17th 493 A.D.

• Natural causes

• Made a saint hundreds of years after his death.

• Made a saint because of his Christian teachings around the world.

St. Patrick’s Day Symbols

• Most do not have to do with St. Patrick’s day at all.

• Three Leaf Clover• Four Leaf Clover• Leprechauns• Green• Luck of the Irish

Three Leaf Clover

• The Way St. Patrick taught the Trinity on his Missions

• Father• Son• Holy Spirit as one

Four Leaf Clover• Used by St. Patrick

• Luck?

• Not luck at all

• The four clovers represent…– Hope– Faith – Love – Happiness

Green• Why do we wear green on St.

Patrick’s Day?

• Because you will be pinched if you don’t

• School children in Ireland started the tradition

• Green was the color of the Irish flag & you were pinched if you did not have it on.

The Luck of the Irish

• Say your Prayers– May blessings

outnumber the shamrocks that grow & may trouble avoid you wherever you go

• Wear green

• Catch a Leprechaun

Legend of the Leprechaun• Leprechauns were crabby shoemakers

• Fairies paid leprechauns to mend their shoes.

• Paid them in gold coins

• They collected them in large black pots

• If you listen closely & hear their hammer you might be able to catch one.

• If you catch one & threaten them they will lead you to which rainbow their treasure is behind but on the journey if you take your eye off of them they will vanish & you will be lost in the woods forever.

St. Patrick's Day

• http://www.history.com/videos/history-of-st-patricks-day#history-of-st-patricks-day