who was saint patrick?

If you are a Christian educator like me, holidays like St. Patrick's Day or Halloween can be a little difficult to navigate. Maybe your school limits certain celebrations, or maybe you have your own convictions for abstaining from the holiday. But here's the thing... St. Patrick's Day started out as a sacred holiday to celebrate one of the most influential missionaries in Christian history.

So who was St. Patrick, and why do we celebrate him every March 17th?

As always, I start my lessons with books! Here are the ones I used:

The Story of Saint Patrick's Day by Patricia A Pingry is short and sweet and perfect for little ones. It covers everything from who St. Patrick was to how we celebrate today.

Patrick by Tomie dePaola - dePaola is one of my favorite authors and does a fantastic job of bringing cultural traditions to life. This book is a great resource for learning about the real St. Patrick!

*If you're a VeggieTales fan - believe it or not they have a short lesson on St. Patrick! It's featured in the episode "Sumo of the Opera", but you can find it by itself of YouTube.

St. Patrick is among the most influential figures in Christian history. God used him to bring the gospel to Ireland over 1,500 years ago. He is well known for his teachings on the Trinity - a concept that can be tricky to wrap our heads around.

While we usually see 4 leaf clovers in March, St. Patrick originally used the common 3 leaf clover to teach people about the Trinity. Just as a clover has 3 leaves to 1 stem, God is three persons in one - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And though there's no earthly thing that can accurately represent the Triune God, this can help kids begin to understand the concept of "three-in-one".

Here's a classic and simple craft to reinforce the concept of the Trinity. The heart represents God the Father, the cross represents God the Son, and the dove represents the Holy Spirit.

So whether you’re team leprechaun or team Patrick, I hope you enjoy the changing of the season as our Heavenly Father showers us with grace upon grace!