by Elizabeth Connolly
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Dozens of kids gathered at the Medfield Public Library (MPL) the Saturday before this year’s St. Patrick’s Day to try their luck at building a leprechaun trap. These simple, but quite creative, contraptions are designed to ensnare one of the world’s most elusive creatures: the tiny and mischievous, but apparently rather wealthy, leprechaun.
So what’s the deal with leprechaun traps, anyway? Well, some research had to be done to get to the bottom of this fairly new American tradition - and yes, you read that right: this is an American tradition and not an Irish one. These traps appear to be about as American as baseball and to have originated perhaps as early as the 1980’s. No-one knows exactly who was the first person to start the practice, but we do know that it has exploded in recent years, largely thanks to social media. The idea is to catch a leprechaun in your trap in hopes that they will lead you to their pot of gold, or perhaps grant you three wishes. Unfortunately, they are notoriously clever, spry, and difficult to catch, most kids end up with some green footprints to show off or perhaps a bit of candy to enjoy, instead.
Which brings us back to the recent Saturday afternoon at MPL, where kids from ages five to ten were attempting to construct their best trap. The librarians had set out a number of helpful supplies, such as boxes, crepe paper, shiny decorations, scissors, glue, markers, stickers and more. Upon arrival, each participant received a sheet of hints, as well as a shiny object to use in their trap to try to lure the leprechaun in. It didn’t take the children long to get to work finding the supplies they wanted to use and then go about cutting, gluing, and decorating. In no time they were showing off their fantastic creations.
This event has grown to be extraordinarily popular, with 115 participants last year. This year there were three sessions available, which meant there was more space for imaginations to soar. And soar they did, as everyone walked out with quite a lovely creation.
MPL hosts an array of activities, such as this one, throughout the year. You can find them all on their website, MedfieldPublicLibrary.org.
