St Patrick's Day Printable Activities

What to Do During St Patrick’s Day

There are a lot of things to do during your holiday on St Patrick's day such as parades, cooking Irish traditional foods, playing music and dancing to Irish traditional songs, doing pub crawls and decorating houses with green and iconic properties of the celebration.

How to Cook Corned Beef and Cabbage

Corned beef and cabbage is a classic Irish dish that is traditionally served on St. Patrick's Day. This food is a mandatory dish during St Patrick’s day. Here’s how to cook, serve, and enjoy corned beef and cabbage!

 

Ingredients

• Corned beef brisket 4-5 pounds
• 8 cups of water
• 1 onion
• 4 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 head of kale, cut into wedges
• 8 potatoes (cut in half)
• 4 carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces 

 

Instructions

• Place the corned beef in cold water and place it in a large pot or Dutch oven.
• Add 8 cups of water, onion, garlic, bay leaf, pepper, and thyme to the pan.
• Bring water to a boil, reduce heat to a minimum, and simmer corned beef for 2 to 3 hours or until tender.
• Add the cabbage, potatoes, and carrots to the pan and simmer for an additional 30-40 minutes or until tender.
• Remove corned beef from the skillet and let stand for a few minutes before slicing against the grain. Serve corned beef and vegetables piping hot, adding a bit of cooking liquid if desired. 

 

Playing Irish Traditional Musical Instrument

Irish traditional music is a rich and diverse genre that is steeped in history and cultural significance.

The fiddle

The fiddle is a type of violin, but the way it is played varies greatly from region to region. For example, Sligo's traditional Irish music, including the fiddle, is played very quickly and flows with fuzzy bowing and slight vibrato. In Donegal, fiddle playing echoes the foot-thumping rhythm and distinctive staccato sound. While East Galway fiddlers value melody, Suliab his Ruaka (Munster) highland region fiddlers prefer polkas, slides, and reels with his style of distinctive bowing. 

The harp

The Celtic harp has been a traditional Irish instrument for centuries, and legend has it that the first harp belonged to Dagda, chief of the Tuatha de Danann. He seemed to be able to make his audience cry, laugh, or, depending on the style, sleep, and the harp became known as something that gave sorrow, joy, and calmness. The original ones had a smaller size, were carved from bog wood, and lacked foot pedals with gut strings which are similar to modern instruments. The word "harp" means "to repel."

The original Irish harp was smaller, carved from bog wood, and lacked foot pedals like modern instruments. The word "harp" means "to repel," and the original harp had wire rather than gut strings. 

Flute and whistle

The flute and fife are two other popular Irish instruments for playing traditional Irish music. The flute, tin whistle, and low whistle are all traditional Irish woodwind instruments that have similar fingerings but produce different tones. Dating back to the 12th century, the tin whistle or penny whistle emits a shrill, shrill sound (think Geraldine his cotter), while the bass whistle produces a louder, deeper, and mellower sound. 

The uilleann pipes

One of the lesser-known Irish instruments for playing traditional Irish music, the uilleann pipe is similar to the Scottish bagpipe and is Ireland's national pipe. Uilleann means "elbow pipe", a bag inflated by bellows wrapped around the player's waist and pumped by the arm. Eliminates all bagpipe huffs and puffs and directs drier air into the reeds. Tubes with finger holes are known as chanters and are used to create the timbre of these traditional Irish instruments. 

Accordion and concertina

An accordion called a "squeeze box" hangs from the shoulder strap. There is a bellow that is operated by pulling and pushing the box, the left-hand plays the bass note with the button, and the right hand plays the main melody with the keyboard. A concertina is a smaller member of the squeeze box family, often a hexagon with buttons at each end of the bellows instead of keyboards. 

The banjo

A popular string banjo in many Irish bands, it features a round box cavity and a neck with five strings that are tuned and tuned with nuts. The tenor banjo was uncommon before 1960 and relatively new to Irish folk music, but things are changing. The banjo, which can be strummed, finger-plucked, or plucked with a pick, is the most common single-note tune in Irish music. 

The bouzouki

The Irish bouzouki is not a traditional Irish instrument and was only introduced to the Irish music scene in the mid-1960s by Johnny Moynihan (Sweeney's underling). In the early 1970s, Irish musician Donal Raney replaced his two-octave strings with unison strings and later entrusted the first bouzouki to that specification. It is now an integral part of Irish folk music and is primarily used to accompany flute and fiddle chords. 

So what do you want to do to celebrate this moment? Is it cooking or playing music? Whatever your choice, we hope that the article above can help and give you references regarding the activities you have to do. Happy St Patrick’s Day! God bless you!