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Complete the passage with suitable relative pronouns. There may be more than one correct answer.
March 17th is an Irish holiday 1. ............................... honours the patron saint of Ireland, St Patrick,
2................................ brought Christianity to the Irish people. According to tradition, St Patrick,
3................................ father was a wealthy man, was actually born in England. At the age of 16, he was
kidnapped by pirates and sold as a slave. Some years later, he escaped to France, 4................................ he lived
for many years and became a priest. At the age of 60, 5................................ he returned to Ireland, he built his
first church. On March 17th, the day 6................................ St Patrick died, people wear green clothes decorated
with the shamrock, 7................................ is the national symbol of Ireland.
Read and complete with a suitable word:
St Patrick’s Day: How England came to celebrate Irish culture
The Irish around the world gather to celebrate their culture on St Patrick’s Day, but in recent times increasing numbers of English people have been keen to join the party.
A survey ______________ was conducted for British Future last year found ___________English people were more likely to be able to remember the date of St Patrick’s Day than St George’s Day and suggested many were “too nervous” to celebrate their own patron saint on 23 April.
The first celebrations for St Patrick were recorded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1737. It is believed ________ Saint Patrick, ______________ is the patron saint of Ireland, was born in either Scotland or Wales in the fourth century. He was taken to Ireland as a slave, __________ he was 16 years old, but escaped after six years. It was during his capture _______________ he turned to God.
Saint Patrick is traditionally associated with the Shamrock plant, _____________ he used to explain the concept of the Trinity. He is credited with playing a major role in converting the Irish to Christianity after returning to the country as a missionary. Legend also says that St. Patrick could raise people from the dead and he is well-known from driving all the snakes out of Ireland, although many people dispute the truth in this.
On St. Paddy’s day, pictures of shamrocks and leprechauns are hung everywhere. Some people even dress up as leprechauns complete with their big green hats. The Irish say that if a leprechaun is caught by a human, he will reveal where he hides his pot of gold.
Mike Cronin, _____________ wrote The Wearing of the Green: A History of St Patrick’s Day, said the earliest mention of the festival in England came in the 19th Century, ____________ it was seen as important for the Irish to attend mass on 17 March.
“In later decades of the 19th Century, particularly in London and Birmingham, you would see very small, local parades,” he said. “After the Second World War they became much more formal, usually based around different Irish societies such as the counties ______________ people came from, so you might have the Dublin society or a Mayo society parade.”
St Patrick’s Day faded in England, Mr Cronin said, during the darkest days of the Troubles ___________ there was a nervousness about celebrating Irishness. The only parade ______________ continued through all the years of the Troubles was the London one.
But, in the 1990s, there was a huge upsurge of the Irish-themed bar. English people became much more used to the idea ___________ they were going to this bar on this day because it was St Patrick’s Day and Guinness would be giving out free hats and whatever else. Suddenly it was acceptable to be performing Irishness out on the streets again.
Now, Irish pub owners go crazy putting green food colouring into their beers and traditional Irish Guinness sells out in all Irish pubs. People also drink lots of Irish coffee, ___________ is made with warm whiskey, sugar, coffee and topped off with whipped cream. As for food, corned beef and cabbage is a consistently popular dish. Another option is Irish soda bread and potato pancakes.
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated world-wide with people dancing and singing in Irish pubs, watching the St. Patrick’s Day parade and wearing green clothes. The English are drawn to the celebrations due to their “jubilant party nature”, in the same way people around the globe are.
Questions on the text:
- Why are English people too ‘nervous’ to celebrate their own Saint’s day?
- When are where was St. Patrick born?
- Why is he a patron saint?
- How did St. Patrick use the Shamrock?
- What are leprechauns?
- What were ‘the Troubles’?
- Why did St. Patrick’s Day become popular again?
- What do people eat and drink on St. Patrick’s Day?
MOLLY MALONE SING IT ALONG!
Lyrics and translation HERE
