March 17 is Saint Patrick's Day. Saint Patrick's Day is an Irish holiday, but it is celebrated by people from many different countries. Here in the United States we celebrate it by wearing green, watching parades, and eating corned beef.

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/
St. Patrick was born to wealthy parents in the late fourth century. At the age of 16 years old, he was kidnapped and sold as a slave by Irish robbers. It was during this capture that he turned to God. After being a slave for six years, he managed to escape. After that, he studied in a monastery in Gaul (France) for 12 years. St. Patrick went from monastery to monastery, successfully converting people to Christianity. The Celtic Druids (ancient religious leaders) were very unhappy with him and tried to arrest him several times but he always managed to escape. After 30 years of being a missionary in Ireland, he finally settled down in a place called County Down. He died on the 17th of March, AD 461.

Many of the popular Irish blessings and prayers are attributed to St. Patrick. Sharing blessings is a way the Irish express hope, desires for a better future, and support of family, friends and neighbors. Here are a few of these “blessings”:

May God give you…
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise, And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.
May the friendships you make, Be those which endure,
And all of your grey clouds Be small ones for sure.
And trusting in Him To Whom we all pray,
May a song fill your heart, Every step of the way.
May your home always be too small to hold all your friends.

Traditional Irish Blessing
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm on your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think these blessings mean?
2. Do you have any blessings that your family or your country of origin has? Is there a special blessing given on special occasions?

Irish Humor
The Irish people went through difficult times of famine and trouble, yet many of them have a wonderful sense of humor. The Irish are famous for their jokes and good nature.

The Irish tend to see humor in almost everything. This is one of the reasons why there are so many successful Irish folks in the world. Imaginative, witty, and resilient, the Irish have contributed greatly in many fields such as the arts, science, business, architecture, sports, and others:

• U2 is one of the biggest bands in the world.
• Colin Farrell is a successful actor in Hollywood.
• Conan O’Brien is a TV talk show host
• Irish writers and poets like Samuel Beckett, William Butler Yeats, and Seamus Heaney won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
• “Boyle’s Law” in Physics and Chemistry was named after Robert Boyle.

Some “Irish jokes”
Have you heard the one about an Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman stranded on a small island? One day, they discovered a magic lamp in the sand. They rubbed the lamp and a genie appeared and granted a wish for each of them. Without thinking, the Englishman wished he was back in London and poof! he was gone. The Scotsman wished he was back in Scotland and poof! he was gone, too. Feeling lonely and bored, the Irishman wished the two of them would be back on the island.

An Irishman was visiting London but got lost in the London Underground (Tube) around midnight. Then he saw a sign “DOGS MUST BE CARRIED ON THE ESCALATOR”. He sighed and said, “How am I going to find a dog at this time of night?”

Discussion questions:

1. Do you have any jokes that you can share from your culture?
2. Does your country of origin have a national holiday? How is it celebrated? Is there any special food served then?