The Myth and Magic Behind the St. Patrick’s Day Leprechaun
Reading Time: 5 minutes As a parent, you can have a great conversation with your child about the many legends surrounding St. Patrick’s Day.
I love children’s ability to see magic…in everything. Younger children want to stop and look at every crack in the sidewalk where the ants are teaming, racing in lines carrying loads up to half their size. Older children are also fascinated, sometimes by what seems implausible but happens, for example dinosaurs or volcanoes.
When you combine this fascination and magic with stories and legend you always get a winner. Even many adults, who have lost a lot of the ability to fall under the sway of amusement or fiction, love a good story that has a basis in the everyday.
Another benefit of talking to your child about how stories become engrained in our culture is that they become aware that behind even the most common ‘facts’ as we understand them, there is much to be curious about and question.
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As an “Ode to St. Patrick’s Day” I would love to talk about the leprechaun. I “cobbled” (this is a pun for later) many facts from several articles to bring this to you. I also learned a lot that I never knew before.
- Where did the leprechaun come from? The legend of the leprechaun is believed to have started in the 8th century. Originally they were water dwelling spirits and the tales were first spread among the Celts.
2. Are there any female leprechauns? No. nothing is recorded of a female leprechaun in any legend or story. In fact, this is specifically talked about as part of the magic or mystery of them. One story I read said that leprechauns are actually a type of fairy, however, they are born with such a physical disability (none is ever specified, I can only surmise it is the size, however, there are sprites and brownies in the fairy lore), that they are unwanted and “discarded.”
3. How did a pot of gold become associated with leprechauns? There is an interesting overlap in facts, and none of this came from the same article. Supposedly, around 795 AD, the Vikings started conquering, looting and burying their treasure throughout Ireland. As the Vikings left, stories began that they were not able to find all of their buried treasure and much of the stolen gold was left behind. The legend of the pot of gold began.
4. Why is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Much like many tales told to our children from the Native population, there is a moral behind it. It is said that a struggling couple in Ireland who farmed where down to their very last carrot. They pulled up the carrot and were given what their heart desired, in wishes in exchange for the leprechauns freedom. The couple got greedy and kept wishing and wishing for jewels, tools and house and more. Finally the leprechaun said they could have all that they desired if they found his pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The greedy couple agreed.
5. Is the leprechaun a trickster and why three wishes? The tale of the greedy couple shows that there seemed to be a time when wishes were not limited by number, but it was human greed that changed this. It also shows that originally, the leprechaun did not seem to wish to trick anyone, however, overcome with dismay by the couple’s reaction to being able to wish, he changed and felt disgust towards humans.
6. Where do leprechauns get all of their gold? They are cobblers by trade. They make, mend and craft shoes for the fairy. In many other legends, fairies are known for their love of dancing, they needed many shoes! Cobbling was very lucrative. Some speculate that leprechauns may also have been the bankers of all of the fairy folk. Therefore, the hoards of gold that was hidden was not their own.
7. Why do leprechauns wear green? Interestingly, they originally wore red. I wonder if that is why their beards are said to be red? As the stories grew, the leprechaun became more and more a symbol of Ireland. The green is said to represent the flag, the Emerald Isle and the popularity of green throughout the country.
8. Do you remember the movie Gremlins? I was fascinated to learn that supposedly leprechauns have a second nature called, clurichaun. It is the clurichaun that wreaks havoc, gets drunk and is ill tempered. This part of the legend says that the leprechaun is very hard working at cobbling all day. He avoids humans and craves solitude. However, after a day of hard work, he drinks. When he drinks he “turns into” (now my Gremlins is bleeding into the writing, because there is very little on this part of the legend), clurichaun. This side continues to drink until drunk. The clurichaun then goes out and rides livestock across the Irish countryside and causes chaos.
9. Do leprechauns really exist? A pub owner, P.J. O’Hare, announced in 1989 that he heard a scream and ran to his well only to find bones, a small suit, gold coins and a patch of scorched earth. All of these items are now on display at his pub. Yearly there is a leprechaun hunt to find plastic renditions of the leprechaun.
Leprechauns are a protected species under European law. Supposedly, there are 236 today, living in Carlingford Mountain, where you will also find O’Hare’s pub.
There is so much to learn from the most basic stories and traditions. Even though there is a lot of detail in this account of leprechauns, much is still left out. For example, why is a leprechaun tied to St. Patrick’s Day? How did the water sprite morph into the leprechaun? Why did the leprechaun choose a rainbow in the very beginning to trick the greedy couple? The clurichaun brings up a whole new story and tale with new questions.
Often, adults talk about children and their seemingly endless supply of “why” questions. Curiosity is a wonderful attribute. I hope I satisfied many of those questions and gave some of the older children a springboard of interest for their own research.
A pot of funny is worth more than all the gold at the end of the rainbow… Pooh, Winnie-the-Pooh