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Instant Classroom Activities

Equinox

Below we have prepared a jigsaw reading activity for you based on events in March – in particular St Patrick’s Day, St David’s Day and the Spring Equinox.

St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and March 17^th is celebrated as his day not only in Ireland, but all around the world.

St. Patrick was actually born in Wales abut 385AD. Not much is known about his early life but at the age of 16 the pagan St. Patrick was sold into slavery in Ireland by a group of Irish thieves who attacked his village.

It was while in slavery that St. Patrick became a Christian. After 6 years he managed to escape from slavery and made his way to Gaul (modern day France).It was here that he joined a monastery in Auxerre, where he studied for twelve years. While there St. Patrick made up his mind to return to Ireland to convert pagans to Christianity.

Eventually Patrick was made Bishop of Ireland. His time in Ireland was marked by great success in converting the locals to Christianity but of course this got a poor reception from the local pagans and he was captured several times although he always managed to escape, with help from his fellow converts.

For thirty years St. Patrick preached in Ireland establishing numerous schools, churches and monasteries and he was largely responsible for introducing the written word to the Irish. On March 17^th 461AD St. Patrick died and this day has been commemorated as St. Patrick’s day since.

Since then a lot of folklore has built up about St. Patrick. He is alleged to have banished all the snakes from Ireland when giving sermon form a hilltop. But Ireland was never home to any native snakes.

The shamrock is a traditional icon of Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day and this came about as St. Patrick used the three leafed shamrock to teach the Holy Trinity. He explained how the Father, Son and Holy Spirit could all exist in as separate elements of the same whole.

As St. Patrick’s Day is during Lent, the day was seen as break from the normal rules. A visit to church in the morning was followed by dancing drinking and eating –traditionally bacon and cabbage. The first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place not in Ireland but in New York in 1762. Irish soldiers serving with the British marched through the streets. Over the following years as more and more Irish immigrants arrived the parades became more popular and St. Patrick’s Day lost some of its religious significance and became more a celebration of Irishness.

St. David’s Day

St. David is the patron saint of Wales and his life is celebrated on March 1^st. Little is known of his early life but we do know that David (Dewi in Welsh) was born to a high ranking family in west Wales about 520AD. As the youngest son he was sent to become a priest. Following his studies he began travelling around Wales setting up monasteries. His own monastery was set up in Pembrokeshire at Menevia (later St David’s).

He was chosen to be the Bishop of Caerleon because of his success in converting the locals to Christianity. This place was supposedly King Arthur’s castle abut St David said he would only accept the Bishop’s official residence was moved to St David’s monastery in Menevia.

His fame is based on the success of his preaching and on the strict code followed by monks in his monasteries. When applying to become a monk, the applicant was kept waiting outside for ten days to test his resolve. From Friday evening to Sunday morning monks were supposed to pray with only one hours sleep allowed. The monks could only speak when absolutely necessary and prayed constantly. The only food was bread, vegetables and salt with water the only drink. Monks had to plough the fields by hand, with no cattle allowed to help them.

David was canonised in 1120 and March 1^st became St. David’s day. These days it is traditional for Welsh people to wear a leek as a brooch on this day as the leek is the national symbol of Wales. (The reason for this being that in a battle with the English the Welsh soldiers wore leeks to distinguish themselves from the enemy.) The day is not one of large parties as is St. Patrick’s day but is usually celebrated by a meal and the singing of traditional Welsh songs.

The Spring Equinox

Spring Equinox celebrates the renewed life of the Earth that comes with the Spring. It is a solar festival, celebrated when the length of the day and the night are equal (this happens twice a year, at the Spring and Autumn Equinox).

It is also significant as this event occurs right around the world. Depending on the year, the Spring Equinox takes place on one of the days between the 19^th and 22^ndMarch. Originally this was seen as the beginning of Spring although some organisations such as the Meteorological Office in the Uk describe 1^st March as the start of Spring.

This turn in the seasons has been celebrated by cultures throughout history who held festivals for their gods and goddesses at this time of year.

To celebrate Spring Equinox some people carry out particular rituals. For instance a woman and a man are chosen to act out the roles of Spring God and Goddess, playing out courtship and symbolically planting seeds. Egg races, egg hunts, egg eating and egg painting are also traditional activities at this time of year.

Egg-balancing

Twice a year, at the time of the spring equinox and the autumn equinox, an old wives tale is retold. Some believe that since the equinox is a time of balance when the daylight hours and night-time hours are equal, that eggs can be balanced on their end on these days. Some believe that one can only balance an egg within a few hours before or after the exact time of the equinox. (March 20^th 18.26 -2006)

Usually you cannot stand a raw egg because the inside of an egg is a very thick liquid, and the yolk sits in this liquid. The yolk is usually a bit off-centre and rides high in the egg, making it very difficult to balance.

Supposedly, the effect of the equinox makes the inside of the egg balanced so it will be able to stand up straight.