Holidays

St. Patrick Day Blessing

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May misfortune follow you the rest of your life,
but never catch up.

 

May your laugh, your love and your wine be plenty,
thus your happiness will be nothing less.

 

 

I wish you health, I wish you well, and happiness galore.
I wish you luck for you and friends; what could I wish you more?

May your joys be as deep as the oceans, your troubles as light as its foam.

And may you find, sweet peace of mind, where ever you may roam.

 

 

May your blessings outnumber
the shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
wherever you go.

 

May God bless and keep in good health your enemies, enemies.

 

Dance as if no one were watching,
Sing as if no one were listening,
And live every day as if it were your last.

 

May the best day of your past be the worst day of your future.

 

May your home always be too small to hold all your friends.

 

May your glass be ever full.
May the roof over your head be always strong.
And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead.

 

May you live as long as you want,
And never want as long as you live.

 

May the leprechauns be near you,
To spread luck along your way.


And may all the Irish angels,
Smile upon you St. Patrick’s Day.

 

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

 

May your troubles be less
And your blessings be more.
And nothing but happiness
Come through your door.

St. Patrick Days

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Saint Patrick’s Day (March 17th), is an Irish holiday honoring Saint Patrick, the missionary credited with converting the Irish to Christianity (in the A.D. 400’s).

 

Saint Patrick was not actually Irish. Historical sources report that he was born around 373 A.D. in either Scotland (near the town of Dumbarton) or in Roman Britain (the Romans left Britain in 410 A.D.). His real name is believed to be Maewyn Succat (he took on Patrick, or Patricus, after he became a priest). He was kidnapped at the age of 16 by pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland. During his 6-year captivity (he worked as a shepherd), he began to have religious visions, and found strength in his faith. He finally escaped (after voices in one of his visions told him where he could find a getaway ship) and went to France, where he became a priest (and later a bishop).

 

When he was about 60 years old, St. Patrick travelled to Ireland to spread the Christian word. It’s said that Patrick had an unusually winning personality, and that helped him win converts. He used the shamrock, which resembles a three-leafed clover, as a metaphor to explain the concept of the Trinity (father, son, holy spirit).

 

Legend has it that Saint Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland — that they all went into the sea and drowned. Poor snakes.

 

In America, Saint Patrick’s Day is basically a time to wear green, eat and drink green food and party. The first American celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day was in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1737.

 

What’s good luck on Saint Patrick’s Day? Finding a four-leaf clover, wearing green and kissing the blarney stone.

 

Green is associated with Saint Patrick’s Day because it is the color of spring, Ireland, and the shamrock. Leprechauns are also associated with this holiday. Leprechauns of legend were thought to be mean little creatures. An exception to this would be the sweet lil’ ol Lucky Charms guy…they were probably added later on because they looked cute on greeting cards.

 

As the saying goes, on this day:

 

“Everybody is Irish!”

 

Over 100 U.S. cities now hold Saint Patrick’s Day parades, the largest is held in New York City.

An Irish blessing to take with you today

May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow
And may trouble avoid you wherever you go.

Celebrate the Canadian Thanksgiving

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In 1576, English explorer Martin Frobisher set out to find a northern passage that would lead him to the Orient. He attempted to establish the first English settlement in North America on what is now known as Baffin Island in Newfoundland. Frobisher decided to give thanks for surviving his journey to Canada and thus celebrated the first formal North American Thanksgiving, 43 years before the pilgrims of Massachusetts at Plymouth Rock.

 

The proclamation of Parliament in 1957, stated that Thanksgiving would be celebrated on the second Monday in October. European farmers held celebrations at harvest time to give thanks for their good fortune of a bountiful harvest. When they settled in Canada, they brought their traditions with them. The Canadian Thanksgiving is a day of general thanksgiving to almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed. The day is celebrated in Canada as a national holiday rather than a religious one.

 

In 1621 the Pilgrims celebrated their first harvest in the New World. In 1750 American settlers from the south brought this celebration of harvest to Nova Scotia. French settlers were also holding feasts of thanks.

 

All three of these historical events influenced what is celebrated as “Thanksgiving” today.

 

CORNUCOPIA, korn-yoo-KO-pee-uh One of the symbols of Thanksgiving is the cornucopia, also called horn of plenty. It is a decorative piece, originating in ancient Greece, that symbolizes abundance. The original cornucopia was a curved goat’s horn overflowing with fruit and grain. It symbolizes the horn possessed by Zeus’s nurse, the Greek nymph Amalthaea, which could be filled with whatever the owner wished. A great symbol to use to show a bountiful harvest.

Boxing Day

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Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Boxing Day falls on December 26th, the day after Christmas. It is also known as the Feast of St. Stephen (the first Christian martyr).

 

The term, “Boxing Day”, may come from the opening of church poor boxes on that day. Boy apprentices collected money in earthenware boxes at the doors of their masters’ clients.

 

The traditional celebration of Boxing Day includes giving money and other gifts to charitable, needy people, and people in service jobs. The holiday originated from the middle ages (A.D. 400’s-1500’s).

 

Nowadays, gifts (boxes) are given to those who provide services throughout the year. People “box up” unwanted clothes and other things and give them to the poor.

 

In England, the holiday has evolved into a celebration of the family. Christmas Day was always the day you spent at home with your family, but Boxing Day would always be the day you would go to your grandparents’ home. A Boxing Day meal usually includes ham or roast lamb. Boxing Day has also come to incorporate sports, such as soccer, and general activity after Christmas.

 

What You Can Do On Boxing Day

 

  • First thing you need to do is go to your local grocery store and get a few empty boxes.
  • Once home, decorate the boxes with wrapping paper, hand drawn pictures, photo’s cut from magazines, craft glitter glue or anything else you can think of.
  • Make labels for the boxes. Simple gift tags will do fine.
  • Now collect things from your home that are no longer needed but are in good condition. What can you give on boxing day? Try the following things,
    • Old clothes
    • Old shoes, boots or slippers
    • Old outerwear (hats, gloves scarves, jackets, snowsuits, etc)
    • Old toys and games
      Craft supplies
    • Old story book and activity books (unused activity books)
    • Canned goods
    • Old holiday decorations
    • Pet food, toys and grooming supplies
  • Put a few of these items in each box. Close the box up and drop them off at local shelters and children’s aid societies.

What Else Can You Do

 

Drop off boxes of stuffed toys to local police and fire stations. They can use these with children in crisis to help the children feel more secure.

 

Thank the people who make regular deliveries (mailman, pizza guy, UPS guy, etc) to your home with small boxes of baked goods (cookies, small cakes, pies, muffins, etc).

 

Thank the neighbour’s who unselfishly help you in so many ways during the year. Give them a small box of baked goods of handmade presents (bookmarks, knit items, craft, wreath, etc)

Halloween Crafts – Backpack Ghosts

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What You Need:

 

  • 10″ Square of White Fabric
  • Plastic Clips
  • 1″ White Pompoms
  • White Cord
  • Two 10mm Wiggle Eyes
  • Tacky Glue
  • Candy Corn
  • Scissors

What To Do:

 

  1. Tie the center of a 12″ piece of white cord to a backpack clip.
  2. Cut a tiny hole just big enough to fit both ends of your cord in the middle of a 10″ square piece of white fabric. Feed both ends of the cord through the hole pushing fabric up to the clip.
  3. Put a dab of glue on your pompom.
  4. Put the pompom up inside the fabric, lining up the dab of glue with the cord knot.
  5. Run a bead of glue down each side of the pompom, pressing the cord along the glue.
  6. Tie the cord together at the bottom of the pompom.
  7. Let dry and trim.
  8. Cut another 12″ piece of cord. Tie it around the fabric, just under the pompom to make the ghost’s head.
  9. Glue on eyes and decorate with candy corn.

 

Halloween Crafts – Aliens

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What you will need:

 

  • clear glass or plastic jar with tight-fitting lid
  • Sculpey bake-hard craft clay
  • little plastic (or glass) eyes of various sorts
  • acrylic paints
  • food coloring
  • paper for labels
  • Cotton Balls
  • glue
  • your computer

What to do:

 

  1. Paint the lid of your jar black, so it will look like a real scientific specimen jar.
  2. Using the Sculpey, model your creature, making sure it will fit inside the jar.
  3. Poke the eyes into it, then take them out
  4. When your creature is finished, bake in a 325-degree oven until the thing turns uniform brown. Let it cool fully.
  5. Paint, and glue in the eyes.
  6. Decide what you have just created. Give it a name like, Twiggle Stimjiggy From Mars.
  7. Create the label for your jar. On your computer, create a scientific specimen label. Print the label.
  8. When the paint on your alien is dry, it’s time to fill the jar with water and insert your “specimen” into the “formaldehyde”.
  9. Tint the water with food coloring. I suggest green or orange for a great effect.
  10. Wind threads of cotton around your alien.
  11. Glue your label to the jar.

Halloween Crafts – Ghost Tree

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What you will need:

 

  • 1 white plastic trash bag per ghost
  • 1 round balloon per ghost
  • 1 rubber band per ghost
  • black paint or permanent marker
  • string or thin rope

What to do: 

 

  1. blow up a balloon until it is as big as you would like the head of your ghost. (Don’t make it too bog because then it may pop.)
  2. Put the balloon in a plastic bag and situate it so that a corner of the bottom of the bag is at the top of the balloon.
  3. tie the bag just below the bottom of the balloon.
  4. Draw a face onto the balloon with your paint or marker. The bag should be tied tight enough so that the surface is shaped evenly with the balloon.
  5. Make a hole in the top of the bag (make sure you don’t get the balloon) just large enough to insert the rope or string. Tie the string tightly & hang from a tree branch.

 

 

Halloween Crafts – Coffin Guy

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Your parents will have to help you with this project. Even though this project is easy once you get going, it requires the use of tools to complete (cutters and cutting plexiglass).

 

What You Need:

 

  • Cardboard boxes (3 of equal length)
  • Cutter or scissors
  • Masking tape
  • Spray paint (black and white)
  • Styrofoam ball for head
  • Cloths (dead guys)
  • Newspaper
  • Pillows
  • Christmas snow
  • Plastic spiders, worms, snakes, maggots, bugs
  • Plexiglass (cut to fit top of coffin)
  • Sandpaper
  • Cotton batting
  • Christmas lights (either white, green or red)

What To Do:

 

  1. Make a coffin from boxes. First cut one side off each of the boxes that will be used to make the ends of your coffin. With a pencil label them boxes 1 and 3. Cut 2 ends off the third box. With a pencil label it box 2. This will leave 2 sides to the box. Tape box number 2 to boxes 1 and 3, connecting all the sides together. Make sure you expand out the sides like a coffin is, in a triangular shape on the sides. Spray paint the entire coffin black. Then, VERY lightly, spray paint white on the coffin to make it look old.
  2. You can either spray pain the inside of the box with white paint, or lay pillows on the bottom to form a cushion for your corpse to lay on.
  3. Start with a Styrofoam head. Either draw a decaying face on the foam, or, use a scary mask or skeleton head.
  4. Stuff a shirt and pants with newspaper. Be sure to add the little details like a tie, belt and shoes. You can make your corpse a girl if you want too.
  5. Now put some Christmas snow on your corpse. This gives the effect of being cold.
  6. Add spiders, lizards, snakes, if you like for effect. Be creative. How about placing a snake slithering out of the skeletons eye socket. Or worms coming out the mouth and ears.
  7. String some Christmas lights around your corpse.
  8. Now take a sheet of plexiglass to cover the entire thing. This is a fantastic effect and shouldn’t be excluded. Cut it to fit properly over your coffin. If your glass cracks don’t worry about it. It will add to the effect. Sand the edges so they are smooth.
  9. To make the plexiglass look cold, spray it VERY lightly with white spray paint or use Christmas snow around the edges. Paint holds up better through the years. Place the plexiglass over the coffin making sure your electrical cord for the lights is hanging out and can reach an outlet. Put masking tape on either sides of the plexiglass and attach it to the coffin.
  10. Place some cotton batting around the edges of the coffin. This is optional. The spray paint or Christmas snow may be enough. It is your choice.
  11. Turn down or completely turn off the lights in the room. WOW!!!
  12. To make this effect is more spooky, how about adding some dry ice in a bucket behind the coffin. What a GREAT effect!
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