St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday filled with green, shamrocks, and leprechauns, and falls on March 17.
The Irish-originating holiday is celebrated all around the world, and it represents the day Saint Patrick, the saint of Ireland, died. To commemorate Saint Patrick, it is customary to wear green and shamrocks every year on this day. However, that is not the only reason to wear green.
The other reason to wear green is that leprechauns pinch people when they aren’t wearing it.
St. Patrick’s Day has become a day to celebrate the mythical beings called leprechauns, who are curious little creatures that hide their pots of gold at the end of rainbows.
At Carlmont, many students wore green as one of the many ways to show off their St. Patrick’s Day spirit.
In the quad at lunch, Associated Student Body (ASB) and students in Leadership set up different activities to show the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day. There was a scavenger hunt, face painting, a photo wall, and necklace making.
The scavenger hunt was created by Leadership, with freshman Walker Fort running the event.
“[In Leadership this year] we wanted to do more than just a photo wall, so we decided to do a scavenger hunt,” Fort said.
The scavenger hunt was based on the concept of a leprechaun’s pot of gold. Leadership hid bags of gold coins around the quad, and when students found the bags, they could go to the ASB room and receive their prize, a doughnut.
“A scavenger hunt seems like St. Patrick’s Day and finding gold,” said scavenger hunt winner freshman Kian Bhatt.
Not only did Leadership host the scavenger hunt, but they also made the photo wall where students could go and have their pictures taken. The photo wall was a green backdrop with a pot of gold and a rainbow because it is said that leprechauns guard pots of gold at the end of rainbows. There were also themed props used to make the images full of St. Patrick’s Day fun.
While this treasure hunt was happening, two other activities, also run by ASB, were held in the quad. During one of the activities, students could have their faces, arms, or legs painted, stamped, or blinged out with St. Patrick’s Day-themed things.
A member of ASB who created the activity and helped with the decorating, junior Annika Anderson, appreciates the St. Patrick’s Day spirit.
“[When creating the activity] I thought about spirit because if people forgot to wear green, they’re going to get pinched,” Anderson said. “And I really wanted to do face painting.”
A participant of the face painting, sophomore Claire Kettwig enjoyed St. Patrick’s Day and the face painting.
“I love all this spirit, just the whole idea,” Kettwig said. “It’s really fun to celebrate the holidays and the activities today.”
The last activity was necklace making, but with a twist. The beads were edible because the necklaces were made with Apple Jacks’ green and orange cereal.
Outside of lunch, the whole school day was filled with St. Patrick’s Day spirit, with most students wearing green or bedazzled with shamrocks. The events held at lunch added to the festivities and the overall atmosphere.
Most students who participated in the activities enjoyed the outcomes, whether a tattoo, face painting, or a cereal necklace. And although the activities were all St. Patrick’s Day-themed, not everyone participated only for the spirit of the holiday.
“I heard they [Leadership] were giving out a prize, and I wanted a donut,” Bhatt said.
