St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated by the Irish all over the world on the 17th of March (the anniversary of his death in 461).
But who was Saint Patrick?
Even though the patron of Ireland, he was born in Britain near the end of the 4th century A.D. At the age of 16 he was kidnapped and taken to Ireland as a slave. During this time, he worked as a shepherd and became a devout Christian. Patrick escaped after 6 years as a prisoner, but after a vision returned to Ireland as a missionary and managed to convert the Irish to Christianity. There are many legends around him, for example, that he drove all the snakes out of Ireland. He used the shamrock (plant, each of whose leaves is divided into three leaflets) to explain the Holy Trinity to Irish people.
St Patrick’s Day is celebrated in countries with people of Irish descent. It was emigrants, (especially to the United States), who transformed St. Patrick’s Day into a secular holiday of revelry and celebration of all things Irish. Green is connected with the day and people participate in the “wearing of the green” by usually putting a shamrock (the Irish national plant) in their lapel. Even beer is sometimes dyed green to celebrate the day!
Forgot to wear green on St. Patty’s Day? Don’t be surprised if you get pinched. St. Patrick’s revellers thought wearing green made one invisible to leprechauns. 
But what are leprechauns?
Leprechauns are fairy creatures who would pinch anyone not wearing green. A leprechaun looks like a little old man and dresses like a shoemaker with a cocked hat and leather apron. According to Irish folklore, leprechauns are tricksters who mend the shoes of Irish fairies. The fairies pay the leprechauns for their work with golden coins, which the leprechauns collect in large pots. The legend says that if you catch a leprechaun, you can force him to tell you where he hid his pot of gold. Supposedly, this pot of gold is hidden at the end of a rainbow.
Let’s make a leprechaun, shall we? Then we might be able to find his hidden pot of gold (this is something you must draw!!!)
Find a paper roll and either paint it green with ginger hair and beard or use the template to cut green paper for the hat and orange for the hair and beard.
Have a look:
Here is the template:
Have a look at this short St. Patrick’s video:
And here’s a whole library with books about Leprechauns!!!
Press on the picture!
