虎虎来啦!3月17日就是爱尔兰的重要节日Saint Patrick's Day了。虎虎知道,在爱尔兰,它的影响力非同凡响。可是,这个节日是怎么来的呢?为什么这个节日对爱尔兰人来说那么重要?在这一天,人们又会怎么样度过这一天呢?带着这些问题,虎虎又再次出击,找到了美女外教Alison向她讨教(戳偶去Alison老师的主页瞅瞅>>)。哇!原来这个节日有那么多的意义,让我们一起去看看吧!

What is St Patrick's Day?

Saint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday celebrated on 17 March. It is named after Saint Patrick (c. AD 387–461), the most commonly recognised patron saints of Ireland. It originated as a Catholic holiday and became an official feast day in the early 17th century. It has gradually become more of a secular celebration of Irish culture.

It is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland,Northern Ireland,Newfoundland and Labrador and in Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora, especially in places such as Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and Montserrat, among others.

听了Alison的介绍,虎虎才知道原来每年的3月17日就是一年一度的圣帕特里克节呀。而且它是以一个叫圣帕特里克的传教士命名的。原先它只是一个天主教的节日,现在它已经成了爱尔兰独有的文化。而且现在的英国,加拿大,美国,澳大利亚,新西兰和蒙特撒拉特岛也都加入了欢庆节日的队伍中。哇。果然,文化的传递性是很强大的啊……虎虎佩服佩服!

Who is Saint Patrick?

There are many versions written about him to provide evidence and details of his life! One of the most widely spread is this:

When he was about 16, he was captured from Britain by Irish raiders (people who attack and take money/food/supplies) and taken as a slave to Ireland, where he lived for six years before escaping and returning to his family. He wrote that he heard a voice in the night, telling him when to flee and in which direction he was to run to find the ship. When he returned to England, he joined and started to study in the church. Then he returned to Ireland as a bishop, after another saint, St. Germain, recommended him to the Pope. The Pope then gave his support to Patrick to bring Christianity to Ireland. By the seventh century, he had come to be revered as the patron saint of Ireland. The native Irish practiced a religion called Druidism and the language spoken is called Celtic.

虎虎发现圣帕特里克的人生真是充满了神秘色彩。他原本是只是一个住在大不列颠岛的孩子,在他十六岁那年被丹麦海盗给掳走了,然后被当成奴隶卖到爱尔兰,在被囚禁的六年之中,他每天不断向天主祈祷,希望有一天能够回到自己家乡的土地上。 就在一天晚上,有一个声音传入他的耳中,告诉他快逃离牧羊的农庄,在距离农庄约二百英哩远的岸边有艘船正在等着他,于是他便划着船逃离了爱尔兰,在今日法国的地方登陆。到了后来圣者帕特里克又回到爱尔兰宣扬宗教。圣帕特里克后来都留在爱尔兰,把宗教的光芒带到岛上的每个角落,建立教堂和学校教育人民,在爱尔兰有许多教堂和学校都以他命名。哇!要是有学校能用虎虎的名字命名改多好哦!因此爱尔兰人为了纪念这个守护着他们的圣者,就以他去世的日子三月十七日,订为爱尔兰最重要的节日之一"圣帕特里克节" 。

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