Fun for St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day, coming up on March 17, is not just an Irish holiday.

Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, who lived in the fifth century and brought Christianity to the island.

In legends about St. Patrick, he tossed all the snakes out of Ireland, and on March 17th (the day he died), fish leap out of the ocean.

Look for parades and celebrations in Montreal, New York, Chicago, and Boston. Montreal has had a parade for almost two hundred years, New York and Boston celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in the 1700’s. In Chicago, the river is dyed green!

 

Dublin – St. Patrick’s Cathedral

st-patricks-cathedral-715

Dublin has a four day St. Patrick’s Festival with music, street performers, fun fair for kids, and a huge parade through the city that ends at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral sits on an ancient site – there’s been a church here since the 5th century, the current cathedral is 13th century.

When you visit the cathedral, don’t miss the majestic statue of St. Patrick in the north aisle, and glowing stained glass windows with scenes from the life of St. Patrick.

The stone Celtic cross was found under a well, over 1000 years old, where it’s believed St. Patrick baptized people when he visited Dublin.

And traveling around Ireland, it really is the Emerald Isle, lush green fields and rolling hills everywhere you go.

 

Shamrock Sugar Cookies

shamrock sugar cookies
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with these easy to bake sugar cookies.

12 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
Green food coloring
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
Green sprinkles

In stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, and pale yellow. Add add egg and yolk, beating well after each addition.

With mixer on low, slowly add the vanilla and almond extracts until combined. Add drops of green food coloring until mixture is bright green. Mix well, scrape down sides of bowl.

In separate bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder. With mixer on low, slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture, mix until just combined.

Put dough in plastic wrap, shape into disc, cover tightly. Chill for at least three hours, or overnight.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Divide dough in half, roll out 1/4 inch thick. Cut out cookies with shamrock-shape cookie cutter. 2 1/2 inch cutter is a good size.

Put cookies on baking sheets, decorate with green sprinkles.

Bake for 12 – 14 minutes. Test middle of cookie to make sure it’s done. Cool on rack, cookies will crisp up when cooled completely.

Tip: If you like really crisp sugar cookie, roll to 1/8 inch, cook 12 minutes.

Store in air tight container.

 

Children’s books

Here’s our favorite books to read about St. Patrick’s Day:

  • St. Patrick’s Day by Gail Gibbons.
  • History and legends of St. Patrick, why people wear green, all about shamrocks, shillelaghs, harps and other symbols, and how the holiday is celebrated. (Picture book)
  • The Luckiest St. Patrick’s Day Ever by Teddy Slater, Ethan Long.
  • The Leprechaun family joins a St. Patrick’s parade, Bedelia swings a shillelagh, Timothy has a pot of gold, Aunt Rose carries shamrocks, there’s dancing (even the pig dances), fife and drum music, then it’s home for mulligan stew and green apple punch, everyone is welcome. (Picture book)
  • Happy Saint Patrick’s Day, Curious George by H.A. Rey.
  • Curious George loves Saint Patrick’s Day – wearing green, a pot of gold hunt (chocolate coins), Irish dancing, luck of the four leaf clover, traditional food, and a big parade. (Board book)
  • Saint Patrick by Tomie dePaola.
  • Read about Saint Patrick, patron saint of Ireland. Born in Britain, Patrick was captured and taken to Ireland as a slave. He believed his calling was to convert the Irish to Christianity, and built churches all over Ireland. Plus legends of Saint Patrick. (Board book)

 

Stickers and decorations

  • St. Patrick’s Day stickers
  • Roll with 100 sheets of stickers – shamrocks, pots of gold, green hats, leprechauns – waterproof and removable. Decorate cards, gift bags, craft projects, windows and more.
  • Leprechaun footprints
  • Leprechaun footprint floor stickers, gold coins and shamrocks to decorate your house. Do the footprints lead to a pot of gold?