St. Patrick's Day is a day for everybody whether or not your name sounds Irish. Everyone in New York City enjoys the St. Patrick's Day parade, which has been celebrated for more than 200 years and is one of the largest in the world. City officials in Chicago dump large amounts of green dye into the Chicago River so it runs green on the holiday. Everywhere people wear green clothing.
Although St. Patrick's Day is an Irish holiday, the celebrated priest was not Irish himself. As a teen he was kidnaped by pirates from Wales and taken to Ireland, where he was sold into slavery. After years of hard labor, Patrick escaped to his home country. In Wales, he studied to be a priest.
Patrick returned to Ireland to convert its people to Christianity and worked as a missionary for 30 years. St. Patrick became the second bishop of "the Emerald Isle." In his work, he used the shamrock to illustrate the concept of the Trinity.
Many stories surround this gentle man, such as times he healed the sick and drove the snakes from the land.
At his funeral on March 17, 461, mourners attached a shamrock to their clothing as a tribute to their priest.
Other Irish legends abound to this day, including those of leprechauns and pots of gold.
A good tale from the Emerald Isle is always a treat. And each year, new and adapted versions are published. Two recent picture books add to folktale collections that encompass many of the tidbits of Irish lore.
THE LAST SNAKE IN IRELAND; by Sheila McGill-Callahan; illustrated by Will Hillenbrand (Holiday).
St. Patrick rang a snake call and led all the snakes down into the sea to become eels and sea serpents. " . . . some swam all the way to the land that we call America to move in with their cousins . . . ." But there was one left behind on land. It was the sneakiest snake of all Ireland. He gave Patrick a scornful hiss and slid away.
But Patrick would not be taunted without taking action. He built a lovely padded box in which to lure the snake.
It is wit against wit as the reptile and man cavort across the country pushing up mountain peaks and flashing through causeways. When an eagle swoops up the serpent for a tasty meal, Patrick is in pursuit. He wanted to get rid of the snake but ". . . he wanted the victory to be his victory . . . ."
The brave eagle and clever snake are no match for Patrick, and the reptile ends up in the box in Lake Loch Ness. Years later, Patrick returns to find a serpent that many say still exists today, the Loch Ness Monster.
The author took a storyteller's liberty to combine an Irish legend with a Scottish one, justifying it by showing that both cultures have similar words meaning lake. (Lough is Irish, loch is used in Scotland.)
Hillenbrand's use of multi-mediums in pastel and bright colors makes the detailed and humorous pictures a rich part of the storytelling.
"The Last Snake in Ireland" is a great story for March 17 and the whole year.
LEPRECHAUN GOLD; by Teresa Bateman (Holiday).
"Leprechaun" is a love story. But it is a story that reaches into the annuals of lore.
When a tiny leprechaun falls into a river, Donald O'Dell risks his life to save the gnome. Donald is rewarded with a pot of gold. But Donald is quite content with his life and returns the gold.
The gold comes and goes in a give-and-return effort; the leprechaun leaves it and Donald returns it. But the leprechaun will not be put off and causes Donald's cow to disappear. It is found at the door of a lovely lady with hair of gold.
The little man wins out, and with a twinkle in his eye he says, "There is more than one kind of gold in the world."
Rosanne Litzinger's simple and stylized watercolor illustrations are just right for this homey and fun story.