St. Paddy’s Day Traditions and Activities for Kids!

St. Patrick’s Day or St. Paddy’s is just around the corner! It’s a holiday children love because it is full of color, fun, and mischief!

Most Americans celebrate St. Patrick’s Day as a novelty holiday, like Valentine’s Day. We talk about leprechauns and rainbows with pots of gold at the end, but how did St. Patrick’s Day originate? What are some of the traditions surrounding this fun and magical holiday? And why is it so popular in America?

We’ve set out to answer those questions and more as we uncovered St. Paddy’s Day Treats and Traditions to share with you!

History of St. Patrick’s Day

St. Paddy’s Day is held on March 17 annually; it commemorates the death of St. Patrick in the 5th Century C.E. St. Patrick, born in Britain, was captured as a slave and then taken to Ireland when he was sixteen years old. He escaped, became a priest, and returned to Ireland. The Catholic Church gives St. Patrick credit for bringing Christianity to Ireland.

There are many myths and legends surrounding St. Patrick, one of them being that he banished all snakes from Ireland as the Pied Piper did with rats, which is why there aren’t any on the island. That rumor has no truth, but it is still fun to imagine!

People have honored St. Patrick in Ireland since the 9th or 10th century, over 1,000 years! Ironically, the first St. Patrick’s Day Parade was held in the Spanish colony, now St. Augustine, Florida, on March 17, 1601, not in Ireland! Over 150 years later, on March 17, 1772, Irish soldiers serving in the British military marched to honor their country’s patron saint in New York City. Today, the New York City parade is the largest in the country, with over 150,000 participants!

St. Patrick’s Day parades are now held throughout the United States, largely thanks to Irish-American patriotism among some of the new country’s largest immigrant groups. In the mid-19th century, over 1 million Irish Catholic immigrants moved to America due to the Great Potato Famine.

St. Patrick was a religious leader turned saint and symbol for the Irish people. So how did pots of gold, leprechauns, and 4-leaf clovers become the symbols of St. Paddy’s Day in America?

St. Paddy’s Day Traditions

Clovers

It is said that St. Patrick used the 3-leaf clover, found all over Ireland, to demonstrate the meaning of the holy trinity to converts. The four-leaf clover is a rare variation of the plant, and there are many legends about the luck of the four-leaf clover. Druids, ancient Celtic priests carried shamrocks or three-leafed clovers with them because it was believed the plant helped them see evil spirits, making escape easier!

Since the clover goes hand-in-hand with Ireland and good luck, it makes sense that the four-leaf clover and shamrocks would become associated with St. Patrick’s Day. Plus, who doesn’t like a little extra luck?

Leprechauns & Rainbows

Like shamrocks and four-leaf clovers, leprechauns are commonly associated with Ireland. Since leprechauns are a big part of Irish folklore and basically what people celebrate about St. Patrick’s Day in modern times is merely related to Irish culture, leprechauns have joined in the fun! Kids love anything magical, and stories about leprechauns, mischievous little men who promise pots of gold and play tricks, appeal to children’s sense of fun and play.

Wearing Green

On St. Patrick’s Day, we wear green! Ireland, called the Emerald Isle, is known for the color green! Ireland received its nickname from all its lush, rolling, green hills, many covered in clover!

St. Paddy’s Day Treats and Activities for Kids!

St. Paddy’s Day Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are the perfect indoor and outdoor activity year-round! Check out this fun and free printable scavenger hunt from Food Fun Family, or make your own! Add items like something green, a coin, a rainbow, etc., or send your child off on a green things-only hunt or search for one item from each color of the rainbow. There are many ways to play with color on St. Paddy’s Day!

Search for Gold

Kids love treasure hunts, so send them off in search of gold! So, purchase plastic gold coins or chocolate coins and hide them inside or outside! You can even make a trail of leprechaun dust with glitter, leading them to a big pot of gold!

Mischievous Leprechauns

Invite the leprechauns to visit the house while your kids sleep! You can mix up their toys, use washable paint to leave leprechaun footprints across the floor, or use dry-erase markers to color on framed photos. Think about the tricks your Elf on the Shelf might play and consider the leprechauns cousins to those silly elves! Your kids will get a kick out of the leprechaun’s shenanigans!

KneeBouncer Color Games

Play one of our many color-themed KneeeBouncer games!

• Color Me
• Colorific
• Sea of Colors
• Colors: Get the Scoop

Homemade Shamrock Shakes

Sure, McDonald’s is famous for its Shamrock Shakes, but if your McDonald’s is anything like the one near me, they’re always sold out of the shake! So why not have fun with your little one and make some homemade ones? It’s a lot more fun, and you can use your ingredients. Try this delicious copycat shake from Simply Recipes.

Rainbow Cookies

There are many variations of rainbow cookies online. Some use marshmallows; others use frosting, and some are fun and colorful! Break out your cookie sheets and pick your favorite rainbow cookie recipe for St. Paddy’s Day baking fun!

Traditional Irish Soda Bread

This St. Paddy’s Day, bake traditional Irish Soda Bread. Irish soda bread is crusty on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. Baking bread is an excellent science and chemistry lesson, and we recommend trying this recipe from Sally’s Baking Recipes because she shares her grandmother’s recipe!

St. Patrick’s Day Books

• Patrick the Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie dePaola
• Follow Me Around Ireland by Wiley Bevins
• There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Clover by Lucille Colandro
• How to Catch a Leprechaun by Adam Wallace
• Fiona’s Luck by Teresa Bateman

March 8, 2024, by L. Elizabeth Forry