Salty Sam’s Fun Blog for Children
Number 220
Patron Saints
Hello Everyone
So the title for this week’s blog post is Patron Saints.
You may know the patron saint of your country, but did you know that Saint Patrick wasn’t actually lrish, Saint George never really met any dragons (sorry to spoil that story) and that Saint David was a vegetarian?
Let me tell you more…
l expect you have heard of Saint Patrick’s Day.
lt is celebrated all over the world by anyone who wants to celebrate lrishness on 17th March. They may be lrish or be of lrish decent or just want to join in with the festivities.
lt is always good to have a party!
A lot of other countries have a patron saint too.
Do you know if your country has a patron saint?
Saint Patrick is the patron saint of lreland, but actually not a lot is known about his life. Many people associate him with the banishing of snakes from lreland, but although snakes aren’t found in the wild there, the story of Saint Patrick banishing them is a myth invented over years of story-telling.
Saint Patrick was actually born in Britain to rich parents near the end of the 1300s and lived an aristocratic life. His father was a Christian deacon, but the family was not fanatically religious.
When he was a young teenager, a band of lrish raiders attacked the family estate and poor Patrick was taken prisoner and held a captive for 6 years. During this time he worked as a shepherd.
Lonely and afraid and often very cold – as he had to live outside, he turned to religion for comfort and became a devout Christian.
Then, according to Patrick’s writings, he had a dream in which he thought God was telling him it was time to leave lreland. So Patrick left and walked nearly 200 miles to the coast where he managed to find some sailors who brought him back to Britain. There, he was reunited with his family.
Once home, he had another dream in which an angel told him he should return to lreland, but this time as a missionary.
Patrick began religious training which lasted 15 years.
After becoming a priest and then a bishop, he returned to lreland to minister to Christians who lived there and also convert the lrish who were not already Christians to Christianity. Of course, Patrick was already familiar with the lrish language and culture after living there for so long, and incorporated traditional Celtic ritual into his lessons about Christianity in order to make them more acceptable to the people.
He believed that it was his duty to do this work.
Saint Patrick is associated with the Shamrock, a plant with three leaves grouped together. He used this plant to explain the idea of the Holy Trinity (The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit).
So actually, Saint Patrick wasn’t originally lrish.
Not only that, Saint George, the patron saint of England wasn’t English either. He was possibly born in a place that is now in Turkey in the 3rd century. His parents were Christians and not much else is known about him.
He did visit England though, whilst on service in the Roman army.
He was a soldier of noble birth who was beheaded after protesting against the persecution of Christians by the Roman emperor Diocletian. He resigned from his post (as a soldier) and tore up the orders from the emperor that were set against the Christians.
He was imprisoned and tortured but would not deny his faith and so he was executed.
He was admired by Christians for his bravery in defence of the poor and defenceless Christians he was trying to protect. lt is said that Diocletian’s wife admired him so much that she too became a Christian, but then she was also executed because of her faith.
Saint George is identified with honour and gallantry because of this, but the legend of his slaying of a dragon was written many years after he lived.
Saint George is actually the patron saint of many other countries and cities as well. He is also the patron saint of soldiers and farmers and more recently the Scouts.
Saint George’s Day is on 23rd April and has been since 1222. The flag of Saint George is incorporated into the Union Flag, as is the flag of Saint Andrew who is the patron saint of Scotland.
And Saint Andrew is the patron saint of other countries too.
He wasn’t born in Scotland; he was born in a fishing port in Palestine.
As a boy, he would have studied scripture as well as other subjects at school and then when he was older he met John the Baptist on the banks of the River Jordan.
He was the first disciple, and was the person who brought the boy with the loaves and fishes to Jesus in the story of the feeding of the five thousand.
He travelled widely to Greece, Hungary, Russia and other places.
He was captured in the town of Patras in Greece where he was given a choice of being offered as a sacrifice to the gods or crucified. He chose crucifixion, but on a diagonal cross so that it would not be the same as the one that was used to crucify Jesus – as he felt unworthy of being put to death in the same way. He was tied to it by ropes around his hands and feet.
He hung there for three days but continued to preach.
His bones were stolen away and one story tells us that they were taken westwards on a ship that was shipwrecked off the coast of Scotland near the little village of Kilrymont which is now the town of St Andrews.
Another story says that the bones were brought to St Andrews by a bishop from Hexham in the north of England in 732.
The town later became a draw for pilgrims who wanted to visit St Andrew’s Cathedral.
Saint Andrew’s Day is 30th November. Saint Andrew is supposed to represent curiosity and strength.
Scottish soldiers fighting in the Crusades honoured Saint Andrew as the Patron of Christian Knighthood.
The patron saint of Wales is Saint David.
Saint David’s Day is celebrated on 1st March and daffodils which are in flower at the time are worn to mark the day. The leek is another symbol used – because of a victory against the Saxons in a field of leeks. The Welsh soldiers had each put a leek in their hat so that they could be distinguished from the enemy soldiers.
People dress in national costume and often mark the occasion with concerts. Wales is particularly famous for its male choirs.
Saint David died on 1st March in 589 and has been celebrated since 12th century.
So was he born in Wales?
Yes!
He was born to an aristocratic family in West Wales. His mother was Saint Non. lt is said that he was born on a cliff top in the middle of a violent storm.
He was educated in Cardiganshire and founded 12 monasteries across Wales and England in the 6th century. He spread Christianity through the tribes of Western Britain.
He travelled as far as Jerusalem where he was made an archbishop.
He was named Archbishop of Wales in 550.
He settled in St Davids, in South Wales, where he established a religious community. He decreed that monks should live a simple and harsh life to become closer to God. As well as praying and celebrating mass, they should work hard. They worked in the fields around the monastery and pulled the ploughs themselves instead of using oxen.
The food they produced was not only used to feed themselves, but was given to the poor and any travellers that stayed with them in the monastery.
They had a basic diet of bread, vegetables, herbs, milk and water.
They were a silent order. That means they were only allowed to speak to say prayers – or in the case of an emergency.
Many miracles were attributed to Saint David. The most famous story is that at one time when he was preaching to a crowd, the ground rose up beneath him so that everyone had a better chance of hearing him.
His shrine became a place for pilgrims to visit.
He became a saint in 1120, and following this he became the patron saint of Wales.
So there you have it, some of the truth and some of the fiction.
Over so many centuries it is difficult to sometimes tell which is which.
lt seems though, that in a modern age, virtues like bravery, caring for others and standing up for what you believe to be right are still worthy of celebration.
And so is a binding together of a community with a sense of connection and tradition.
Bye bye everyone – don’t forget to subscribe to my blog!
lf you like my blog, please support it by telling all your friends and followers about it.
Thank you!
And see you again next Fun Friday!
Love and kisses
Salty Sam
www.christina-sinclair.com
Bill and Bob’s Joke of the Week
Bob: Knock knock
Bill: Who is there?
Bob: lrish
Bill: lrish who?
Bob: lrish l had a million pounds!
Salty Sam © Christina Sinclair 2015
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of material from this blog without express and written permission from this blog’s author and owner is strictly prohibited.
Links may be used to www.christina-sinclair.com
Picture Gallery
Diocletian
St Patrick
A daffodil
St David’s Day is on 1st March
The Saltire flag
St Andrew’s Day is 30th November
The cross of Saint George
George and the Dragon
THE SALTY SAM NEWS DESK
This week the Rocky Bay Primary School had a very important visitor.
The person who came to talk to the children was the Rocky Bay dentist, Mr Gnasher.
He came to tell them how important it was to look after their teeth and also he told them how to do it.
This is what he told the children…
You should brush your teeth at least twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.
It is a good habit to have to wash your teeth just before you go to bed.
You shouldn’t clean your teeth within about half an hour of eating a meal.
Flossing is a process that will clean between your teeth. You could use an inter-dental brush instead.
You should have a new toothbrush about three times a year. You need to use a nice crisp one not an old mushy one!
He also said that if you had a sweet tooth – that is speaking figuratively not speaking literally of course – you should try eating less sugar for just a while.
Because your taste buds replace themselves every few weeks, in time you won’t have a craving for sweet things anymore.
Drinking a lot of sugary drinks and eating a lot of sugary foods are not good for you, and if you want to drink fruit juice instead, because it is quite acid, it is a good idea to drink it through a straw.
There are straws available that can be put on the compost heap, if you don’t want to create even more plastic trash in the world!
Calcium in milk and cheese and green leaves helps to build strong teeth – and strong bones as well.
Going to your dentist regularly is a good idea especially when they are as nice as Mr Gnasher.
Well, Mr Gnasher said he was nice anyway.
The children thought he was very funny.
Being funny is always the best way to get children’s attention!
*********************
TO ADVERTISE ON THIS BLOG
PLEASE CONTACT:
christina.sinclair.ads@aol.co.uk
*********************
Quick Quiz
All these idioms refer to s _ _ _ _ _ _
A rising star
Up and coming
The world is your oyster
Going up in the world
Will stop at nothing
lt’s the Weekend!
HOW TO MAKE A LlTTLE LUCKY HAPPY GREEN FROG
He is so cute. He is so happy.
FROG BODY (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and green dk yarn cast on 12 stitches
Knit 12 rows of stocking stitch
Decrease 1 stitch at the beginning of the next 2 rows of stocking stitch (10 sts)
Knit 12 rows of stocking stitch
Don’t cast off – leave a length of yarn for sewing and thread this through your stitches
LEGS (KNIT FOUR)
Using 4mm knitting needles and green dk yarn cast on 6 stitches
Knit 8 rows of stocking stitch
Decrease 1 stitch at the beginning of the next 2 rows of stocking stitch (4sts)
Knit 6 rows of stocking stitch
Change to knitting garter stitch for the feet
Increase 1 stitch at the beginning of the next 2 rows of garter stitch
(2 knit rows)
Knit 4 rows of garter stitch
Cast off
ARMS (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and green dk yarn cast on 10 stitches
Knit 8 rows of stocking stitch
Don’t cast off – leave a length of yarn for sewing and thread this through your stitches
TO MAKE UP
- Pull in the top of the head and secure the yarn so that the head will not undo
- Sew up the back seam using over-sew stitching with right sides together
- Turn the body the right way out and stuff (but don’t over stuff)
- Sew up the bottom seam with the back seam in the centre of the back (wrong sides together)
- Sew the leg pieces together using over-sew stitching and wrong sides together but leave the tops open
- Lightly stuff just the top part of the leg
- Sew across the tops of the legs and the bottom of the body from the back using over-sew stitching
- Pull in the ends of the hands and secure the yarn so that it does not undo again
- Sew up the under arm seam using over-sew stitching with right sides together
- Take the yarn to the outside of the arm at the wrist
- Turn the arms the right way out and stuff (but don’t over stuff)
- Secure the sewing yarn that you left at the wrist into the seam and then wrap it around the wrist a couple of times pulling it tight as you do so
- Then secure the yarn and neaten off
- Sew the arms to the body by laying each arm across the chest and using over-sew stitching across the tops of the arms and the side of the body at the same time
- The frog in the picture has a crown-shaped bead sewn to the top of the head
Please note that the material on this blog is for personal use and for use in classrooms only.
It is a copyright infringement and, therefore, illegal under international law to sell items made with these patterns.
Use of the toys and projects is at your own risk.
©Christina Sinclair Designs 2015
Quick Quiz Answers
SUCCESS
