St. Patrick's Day on the Net - A Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow

A Pot of Gold
at the End of the Rainbow

Physics teaches that rainbows are created when the sunlight reflects off of raindrops, breaking up the light into different wavelengths of color. This atmospheric phenomenon is most likely to occur immediately after a rain shower, when the sun is shining again, but condensation still lingers in the air.

The rare and lovely appearance of rainbows makes them incredibly magical for children and adults alike. Perhaps this magic first inspired the notion of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Dating back to Old Europe, the legend of the pot of gold is claimed enthusiastically by the Irish. They'll tell you that fairies put the gold there and then the leprechauns guard it. This folklore has become part of the symbolism of St. Patrick's Day, a holiday that celebrates everything Irish � including the hope and luck it takes to find that elusive pot of gold.

If you don't want to spend (or waste) your time searching for treasure on St. Patrick's Day, you can instead try this fun craft of making a rainbow and pot of gold at home with your kids. You'll need a paper plate, a toilet paper roll, a few cotton balls and some glue, paint and gold glitter.

Cut the toilet paper roll to about 2 inches in height and paint it black.

Cut the paper plate in half and then cut out an arc shape from the ridged edge of the plate. The end of the arc should be narrow enough to fit into the tissue roll. Paint the arc to look like a rainbow.

Once the paint dries, slip the end of the rainbow into the roll and glue in place. Paint the cotton balls gold and sprinkle them liberally with gold glitter. Let them dry and then stuff inside the remaining space of the roll. Glue into place as needed.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

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Comments

diane tagliaferri

21:28 10/29/2009

Happy Halloween!!!!!

Emily from Ireland

00:12 03/11/2009

Hi glad you all enjoy our coulture! We hope you have a good time on St.Pattys day! Email me if you have any questions!

Jane Biel from California, US

17:13 01/18/2009

Please send the message about the pot of gold dating back to Old Europe to me. Thank you. Jane

Cliff hobbis

18:05 10/08/2008

Evening of the 5th of October about 7/30 We wear looking out our window and in the sky we saw that the birds wear lit up like flash light then we looked of to the right and there was the rain bow it waS SO LARGE JUST OF TO THE RIGHT OF US, WE THEN LOOKED OUT TO THE WATER AND THE ISLAND WAS A VERY BIGHT YELLOW LOOKING TO THE LEFT THERE IS PARK JUTING OUT IN THE WATER. THE TREES WEAR VERY YELLOW . WE HAVE A GOOD VEW OF THE OCEAN THIS LASTED FOR ABOUT 4OR5 MIN. WE HAVE PICTURES OF THIS IN OUR CAMERA. YES YELLOW ISLAN AND THE TREES AND APART OF THE RAINBOW. THIS WAS SO SPECIAL WE FELT LIKE WE SEEN THE POT OF GOLD. WE LIVE IN nANIAMO b.c. cAN.

timmy

17:53 03/04/2008

has somebody seen the pot of gold

Visit our other holiday celebrations

A Pot of Goldat the End of the Rainbow

A Pot of Gold
at the End of the Rainbow