Grammar

Festivals and Events

1 Nina is living in Ireland, and Irish people celebrate a special day on March 17 th. Read and complete the letter below with
the verbs from the box in the Present Continuous.

bring celebrate cook dance decorate do dye expect

listen mix play prepare search take watch wear

Dear Mom and Dad,

Today is March 17th, a very special day for people from Ireland, because it’s St. Patrick’s Day. Irish people a) ____________ this day in honor
of St. Patrick, who is a great historic character in their culture, known as the religious man who brought Christianity to Ireland.
Everybody b) ____________ costumes or green hats and green clothes. People c) ___ also _________ shamrocks, the Irish national symbol, in
their hats. They d) ____________ the parades and the Irish step dancing, and we e) ____________ to Irish music, and everybody f) ____________.
They g) ____________ games as well, such as costume contests and trivia games. Finally, one of the most fun parts of the day: people from
Ireland h) ____________ leprechauns. Leprechauns are often described with a pot of gold, which humans can only find by catching one of
them.
Restaurant workers i) ____________them with glow sticks, green shamrock paper cutouts and leprechaun hats. Chefs j) ____________ the
traditional recipes, like Shepherd’s pie, colcannon, corned beef and cabbage, and soda bread, and they k) ___ also _________ other
green food, such as green eggs and green sandwiches. Bartenders l) ____________ the drinks that Irish people usually drink at this
occasion, like green beer, Irish car bombs, mint milkshakes, and green soda.
Another interesting tradition m) ____________ place right now: people n) ____________ the Chicago River green! The only thing we o) ___ not
_________ to see today are snakes, since the legend says that St. Patrick saint expelled all these animals from the country!
Everything is amazing about this day. What about you? What p) ____ you _________ today? I hope you can be here with me next year!
Nina.
 Vocabulary

Festivals and Events

2 Match the green words from the text to the pictures below.
 Listening

Festivals and Events

3 Look at the statements about Saint Patrick’s Day below. Listen to the recording and say if they are true or false.
Correct the statements that are false.

a) March 17 is the date of Saint Patrick’s birth.

b) Saint Patrick’s Day is a public holiday in Ireland and is celebrated in many countries all over the world.
c) Saint Patrick’s Day commemorates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.
d) Saint Patrick used a shamrock to explain a Christian idea to Irish pagans.
e) City authorities in New York dye the city’s river green for this day.
f) Famous landmarks are lit up in green around the world.
g) The biggest St Patrick’s Day parade in the world is in Dublin, Ireland.
h) Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations have been criticized for being too long.
https://www.lingaros.com/blog/bring-luck-restaurant-st-patricks-day/

https://seda.college/blog/en/how-do-irish-people-celebrate-st-patricks-day/

https://parade.com/1173388/jessicasager/st-patricks-day-traditions/

https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/a35206963/st-patricks-day-traditions/

https://www.linguahouse.com/pt/esl-lesson-plans/general-english/saint-patrick