St. Patrick's Day 2015 - Preparation

On 17th March, the world celebrates St. Patrick's Day - specially the countries where English is spoken.

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and he lived from the year 385 to 461. He was born in Britain but, when he was a young man, he was captured by raiders from Ireland and became a slave. He managed to get back to his hometown and studied to be a bishop. Some years later, he returned to Ireland and taught the Christian Catholic faith to Irish people.

The Irish people in that time did not have a specific religion, but they believed in natural elements: the sun, the soil, water... St. Patrick tried to adapt their culture to the Christian faith. The most remarkable example is the shamrock - a three-leaf clover -, which symbolises the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They are three persons (three leaves) united in one, just as God is.

The shamrock today is one of the famous symbols for St. Patrick's Day and green is the party's oficial colour.

In order to make our own celebration, we organised some special snacks and candies, as well as games! Take a look at the following tips!

St. Patrick's Day cookies

Want to try a delicious and easy-to-make cookie? Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• 100g of sugar;
• 200g of butter (it can be margarine);
• 300g of wheat flour;
• 1/2 tablespoon of lime zest (remember: 'lime' in Brazil is the green small one);
• Green granulated sugar.

Mix the sugar, the butter, the flour and the lime zest. Mash them together and roll the dough over a flat surface. Cut the dough roll in pieces and press a fork over them. Sprinkle the green sugar over the cookies and bake them using medium temperature for 30 minutes (or until they are golden). Let them cool down and ENJOY!

Shamrock Lime Jelly

A beautiful and different candy can be made in minutes! Just buy some small plastic cups and attach a shamrock made of rubber. Fill them in with green lime jelly. That's an easy idea for your celebration!

The Party Take-Away Gift

What if we created a small take-away gift for all the students who came to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? A green cardboard shamrock with a chocolate coin (did the Leprechaun bring it?) and an Irish blessing message seemed the perfect way to make this day special!

Irish blessings found inside the gift:

"May you always have work for your hands to do.
May your pockets always hold a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you,
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you."

"May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields, and,
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand."