Задание

Match the paragraphs to the headings.

In the 1971 film The Flight of the Doves, an Irish policeman lifts up a little English girl so that she can see the nearby parade for Saint Patrick’s Day. He tells her, ‘It’s a great day for the Irish.’ The little girl exclaims, ‘I’m not Irish!’, to which the policeman replies, ‘You don’t have to be Irish to be Irish!’ Saint Patrick’s Day is the national day of Ireland. Every 17 March, the day is celebrated around the globe by millions of people, Irish and not-so-Irish.

Did you know that Saint Patrick himself was not actually Irish? It is thought that he was either Scottish or Welsh, coming from a wealthy Christian family. Ancient documents suggest that, as a teenager, he was taken by Irish pirates to work as a slave in Ireland. Once in his new country, he began to talk to Irish people about God, introducing his Christian beliefs to the country.

Old legends say that, years ago, Ireland had a lot of snakes and that Saint Patrick used his powers to chase them all into the sea. To this day, Ireland has many old statues of Saint Patrick, often with snakes at his feet. Apparently, this is why Ireland has no native species of snakes (though most scientists suggest that this fact could be more related to geographical reasons).

March 17 is a day for huge celebrations in Ireland. Because of Ireland’s history of emigration, many people around the world think they are Irish because of their great-grandfathers. This means that Saint Patrick’s Day parties take place around the world, from Boston to Tokyo, Sydney to Buenos Aires. In fact, Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated in more countries than any other national festival.

The most famous celebrations on Saint Patrick’s Day are the parades. These are carnival-like events, where people dress up and walk along the street, dancing or playing music. Often the parades include big lorries, specially decorated in green. Many of the world’s major cities have enormous parades. The largest is in New York, where 150,000 people take part in the parade and millions of people watch. The second largest is in Dublin, Ireland’s capital city.

Another well-known aspect of Saint Patrick’s Day is the colour green. Around the world, many people wear green clothes as a way of celebrating the day. In major cities, green lights illuminate famous sights such as the Colosseum in Rome. In Chicago, thousands of people watch as special boats colour the river a bright green colour.

Saint Patrick’s Day

Patrick, the man

Patrick and the snakes

International popularity

The most popular events

A day for green