Today’s Irish legends are thought to stem from stories of real people. As the story goes, in 5th century BC, Gaelic invaders discovered a pre-Celtic race. Being only about five feet tall, the invaders called them ‘little people’, a name which eventually morphed into ‘leprechaun’. Because the little people buried their dead with valuables, it was thought to be gold. Unable to find these buried treasures, people spun tales that grew into legends. It become widely reported that you could find the burial locations at the end of the rainbow. This theory, of course, gives the sense of ‘it’s just out of reach because its an impossible place’.
The rainbow, depicted in St. Patrick’s Day themes, has seven easily distinguishable colors. Both the rainbow and the number seven, are symbols considered to be good luck.
Although St. Patrick’s Day started out as a religious feast holiday celebrating the life of St. Patrick, it has become kind of a mixture of non- religious celebrations steeped in Irish culture, folklore and superstition.
When I saw this dessert on the internet, it looked perfect for the occasion.
HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!
- Prepare instant pudding mix according to package directions. Separate pudding into 7 individual dishes.
- Place dishes in a line & add 2 drops of food coloring to each dish. The rainbow colors you need are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo & violet.
- Layer the pudding by adding about 2 Tbsp of each color to individual parfait glasses. Tap the bottom of the glass on the counter after each layer to make the layer flatten. Refrigerate until fully set. Top with a dollop of whip topping to represent a cloud.