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Bonfire Night Video

March 17th is well known around the world as Saint Patrick's Day. But who was St. Patrick and why is his day celebrated on this date?

He was  a missionary way back in the 4th century who converted the Irish to Christianity and March 17th is the day that he died.

The History

Saint Patrick was born around 385 AD in the United Kingdom. His real name is believed to be Maewyn Succat (he took on Patrick, or Patricus, after he became a priest). When he was 16, he was kidnapped by a group of Irish raiders and sold into slavery in Ireland. During his six-year captivity as a shepherd, he began to have religious visions and found strength in his faith. He finally escaped to France and became a priest - and later a bishop. When he was about 60 years old, Saint Patrick returned to Ireland to spread the  Christian word. He used the shamrock, which resembles a three-leafed clover, as a metaphor to explain the Christian concept of God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).

 People give St. Patrick credit for chasing all the snakes out of Ireland but the truth is that snakes are not indigenous to Ireland and it is believed that snakes were probably a metaphor meaning pagans.

 Just an Irish Holiday?

The first St. Patrick's Day parade didn't take place in Ireland, but actually in New York City on March 17, 1762. Now, over 100 US cities and all over the world have St. Patrick's Day parades but New York's Parade is still the largest .

Famous sites and landmarks around the world take on a greenish glow, such as Rio’s Christ the Redeemer, The Colisseum, The White House Fountain, The Empire State Building and The Chicago River

Chicago has a unique tradition of dyeing the river green. To know more about this tradition and how it started in 1962 click  HERE

Why Green?

• It is one of the colours of the Irish flag
• It is the colour of the shamrock, one of the symbols of Ireland
• Ireland is a green island. In fact it is called the Emerald isle because of its lush vegetation
• According to the traditional Irish legend, wearing green makes you invisible to leprechauns

Leprechauns are Irish fairies. They are solitary creatures who spend their time mending shoes and have a hidden pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and if they are captured by a human they may grant three wishes in exchange for their freedom. To know more about leprechauns click  HERE

Would you like to see how the Chicago river is dyed green? Click HERE

St. Patrick's Day ( song for children)

                                     OXFORD VS CAMBRIDGE

                                        
                                       CHOOSING A COLLEGE

ENGLISH IS CUH-RAY-ZEE

ENGLISH IS CUH-RAY-ZEE
English is the most widely spoken language in the history of the planet.
One out of every seven human beings can speak or read it.
Half the world's books, 3/4 of the international mail are in English.
It has the largest vocabulary, perhaps two million words,
And a noble body of literature. But face it:
English is cuh-ray-zee!
Just a few examples: There's no egg in eggplant, no pine or apple in pineapple.
Quicksand works slowly; boxing rings are square.
A writer writes, but do fingers fing?
Hammers don't ham, grocers don't groce. Haberdashers don't haberdash.
English is cuh-ray-zee!
If the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldn't the plural of booth be beeth?
It's one goose, two geese. Why not one moose, two meese?
If it's one index, two indices; why not one Kleenex,two Kleenices?
English is cuh-ray-zee!
You can comb through the annals of history, but not just one annal.
You can make amends, but not just one amend.
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one, is it an odd or an end?
If the teacher taught, why isn't it true that a preacher praught?
If you wrote a letter, did you also bote your tongue?
And if a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
English is cuh-ray-zee!
Why is it that night falls but never breaks and day breaks but never falls?
In what other language do people drive on the parkway and park on the driveway?
Ship by truck but send cargo by ship? Recite at a play but play at a recital?
Have noses that run and feet that smell?
English is cuh-ray-zee!
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same
When a wise man and a wise guy are very different?
To overlook something and to oversee something are very different,
But quite a lot and quite a few are the same.
How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell the next?
English is cuh-ray-zee!
You have to marvel at the lunacy of a language in which your house can burn down
While it is burning up. You fill out a form by filling it in.
In which your alarm clock goes off by going on.
If pro is the opposite of con, what is the opposite of progress?
Well, English was invented by people, not computers
And reflects the creativity of the human race.
So that's why when the stars are out, they're visible,
But when the lights are out, they're invisible.
When I wind up my watch I start it, but when I wind up this rap,
I end it. English is cuh-ray-zee!
Words by Josh White, Jr. and Pete Seeger
(Based on Richard Lederer's "Crazy English")
Copyright (c) 1996