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Céad Míle Fáilte, or a hundred thousand welcomes to you. One of my fondest childhood memories was heading over to Gram's house for corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day. Of course, corned beef and cabbage is an Irish-American tradition, not an Irish one, but we're an Irish-American family, so it was perfect. I loved coming together as a family to celebrate our heritage as a child, and I still do.
St. Patrick’s Day, or the Feast of St. Patrick, is a holiday in the Roman Catholic Church that is celebrated on March 17th. The day commemorates the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. While the roots of the holiday are religious, the festivities have become a secular, cultural celebration, especially for Irish emigrants living in the United States.
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If your family has Irish ancestry, or you just want to learn about other cultures and life experiences, check out this list of ways you and your little ones can enjoy St. Patrick’s Day together.
Share a meal. Family dinners are a must in our home, and I like to prepare big meals for the holidays. I enjoy creating food traditions with my family. We've always enjoyed corned beef and cabbage, colcannon, and soda bread. If you want a more traditional Irish main course, you can swap the corned beef for lamb, stew, or shepherd's pie. I don't eat much red meat, so if you're looking for something vegetarian, you can find a lot of options for vegetarian and vegan stews and roasts on Pinterest. You can wash it all down with a Guinness, if it suits you, too. For dessert, we're making this delicious apple cake with custard recipe from the Kitchen McCabe. We also plan on starting the day with a few chocolate gold coins.
Blast the music. I am a fan of Celtic music, but my husband…not so much. St. Patrick's Day is one of the few times I get to listen to Irish tunes without any complaint. So, go ahead and enjoy some of the Dubliners, the Clancy Brothers, and traditional Irish folk music. We’ve been practicing our Danny Boy, which was my Grandpa's favorite song.
Do some research. If you have time, it’s nice to include a little craft or story to help the children understand the holiday and the culture behind it. With Ireland being such a large producer of wool, I enjoyed looking over traditional Irish weaving and knitting practices, like that of the crios, with my kids. You can also look into the symbolism of the shamrock and Brigid's cross, or try your hand at Celtic calligraphy or drawing Celtic knots.
Watch an Irish movie. We have really enjoyed the movies of Tomm Moore and Cartoon Saloon. We loved Song of the Sea and recently watched Wolfwalkers. The Secret of Kells is a good one, too, though we decided to wait until our children are a bit older for that one. For the older folk, I recommend Michael Collins.
And, of course, wear green. Green was adopted as the color of nationalist groups in Ireland and was quickly seen as a symbol of Irish patriotism and pride. It doesn’t hurt that the country is covered in lush green hills and is nicknamed the Emerald Isle. So put on some green and enjoy the festivities. We enjoy donning our fisherman sweaters and sprinkling in some green as a way to show our love for all things Irish.
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I hope you enjoyed my list. Does your family celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? What are your favorite ways to mark the day? Share in comments!