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The Legends and Lore of Ireland

By: Glenda Jao

The people of Ireland have an illustrious cultural history, full of stories of faeries and and the great Saint Patrick who freed Emerald Isle from snakes. The folklore and traditions which encompasses Irelands's religious as well as ancient pagan past are a beautiful way to know about its rich cultural heritage.

The shamrock, the plant with three leaves, is considered a symbol of Ireland. Saint Patrick equated the three leaves with the symbolism of the holy Christian trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. This symbol was said to have mystic powers of healing and protection. No wonder, it is often carved into graves.

The color green is commonly associated with Ireland, including its famous nickname of the Emerald Isle. Green is thought to be the color of life and spring, so the people use it to display their national pride. Additionally, the wet weather of Ireland allows it to possess lush green plants, thus the Emerald Isle.

The leprechauns are the tiny enchanted people who are a source of many a famous legends of Ireland. They are often associated with rainbows and pots of gold, because they guard the treasures from the lucky people who find the end of the rainbow. These leprechauns are little pranksters who amuse kids and grown ups alike, though some think they are troublemakers and rogues. Anyway, when you see a rainbow next time, see if you can catch the leprechaun!

The renowned Blarney Castle houses the famous Blarney stone. Queen Elizabeth I's reagent tried to persuade the Lord of Blarney to accept her rule. The lord was not very articulate and was aprehensive to meet the ruler. He was advised by an astute lady to kiss the Blarney stone and attain eloquence. The lord did just that and made a succesful appeal before the queen.

Ancient Irish celebrated the holiday known as Samhain on the 31st of October—All Hallow’s Eve. On this date, a great feast was thrown, along with a ceremonial extinguishing and lighting of bonfires. Since the Celts believed in spirits, every man, woman, and child dressed in a disguise to fool evil spirits on their way home.

Finn McCool is best known as the friendly giant of Ireland that protected the fair isle against attack. It is believe Finn fought against an evil giant from Scotland by extracting a large clod of earth and throwing it at the big Scot. The hole left soon filled with water and left Ireland’s largest body of water, Lough Neagh.

The most famous personality belonging to Ireland and their benefactor saint is Saint Patrick. He was born in 5'th Century AD. Saint Patrick closely worked with Roman Catholic Church to bring pagans into the fold of Christianity. This put him against the droids. He was often forced to live the life of a fugitive. Saint Patrick is also known for eradicating snakes from Ireland by cursing them to run away into the sea and drown.

Article Source: http://www.simplepetcare.com/pet-articles

Glenda Jao is the chief editor for F ireland, the #1 source on the internet for information about ireland. For questions or comments about this article why not visit: www.folkireland.com/articles
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