St. Patrick’s Day Family Traditions
March 16, 2009 by Mary Emma Allen
Filed under Parenting
Are there St. Patrick’s Day festivities in your household? Special foods, decorations, stories, or card exchanges?
We always made St. Patrick’s Day a special occasion when I was a youngster because the hired man, Dan Sullivan, was Irish. He wore a tiny green bow on his work cap. It was a game which one of us children spied the bow first when Dan and my dad came from the barn for breakfast.
St. Patrick's Day Dinner - Image: istockphoto
(Dan worked for my dad on the farm and was a surrogate grandfather for us children. He took his meals with us and rented a room from a neighbor.)
Mother cooked corned beef and cabbage, with boiled potatoes, onions and carrots, one of Dan’s favorite meals. Often Mother baked a cake and colored the icing green.
She had a close friend, Aunt Pat, whose maiden name was Kirkpatrick. Pat always sent us cards on this holiday. When these friends were in their 80s, Pat still sent a St. Patrick’s Day card, even when she didn’t mail one for other holidays.
When I was substitute teaching the other day in kindergarten, the teacher’s plans called for me to read a story about leprechauns, to use coloring and counting sheets with a St. Patrick’s Day theme, and to discuss the holiday during circle time.
Do you have any St. Patrick’s Day traditions your children will remember?
I love St. Patrick’s Day. I make a corned beef and cabbage dinner, Irish soda bread, and we raise a pint and salute our family! haha It’s awesome.
Thank you, Cherie, for stopping by and sharing your St. Patrick’s Day traditions. We also enjoyed finding something green to wear to school when I was a youngster. I’ll have to remember to wear something green when I substitute teach tomorrow. Often the youngsters check to see who has green and who doesn’t.