Dzień Św. Patryka (St. Patrick's Day) - referat/speech

On March 17, everybody is Irish!

Saint Patrick's Day is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick, the patron saints of Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.
Saint Patrick's Day is the most widely celebrated saint's day in the world. Since 1903, it’s a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Newfoundland, Labrador and in Montserrat. Sometimes it’s also celebrated in Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand.

The day is characterized by the attendance of church services, wearing of green attire, organizing parades and the lifting of Lenten restrictions on eating, and drinking alcohol, especially beer as always in Ireland.

Surprisingly, the original colour associated with Saint Patrick was blue. Saint Patrick is said to have used the shamrock, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish, and the wearing and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs have become a feature of the day.

On the traditional Saint Patric’s Festival are held in Dublin, and it consists of marching through the city centre, dancing the Irish jig and gathering to sing Irish songs accompanied by uillean pipes. The first Saint Patrick's Festival was held on 17 March 1996. It usually lasts from 3 to 5 days. Many other cities, towns, and villages in Ireland hold their own parades and festivals, including Cork, Belfast, Derry, Galway and Waterford.

There’s also an interesting tradition especially among the children. Most of them believe in leprechauns. They are little make-believe fairies that live in Ireland. They are the shoemakers for the fairies dressed in green jacket and hat and brown trousers. The story is that if you catch one you can make him tell you where he hides his gold. No one has caught one yet.... but you can start looking today! Good luck!!

I also want to tell you about the person of Saint Patrick. March 17 was not the he was born, but the day he died. Even though we don't know the date of his birth, most scholars believe the year was 385 AD and the year of his death was 461 AD. St. Patrick was born in Wales, not in Ireland. He studied religion to become a priest and then went to Ireland to teach the people about God. There are many wonderful stories about St. Patrick, some true and some not true. The most famous legend is that he drove the snakes out of Ireland. This did not happen but the Irish will tell you that you cannot find a snake throughout the whole country of Ireland.