On March 17th, eager to celebrate and with fears of being pinched, millions of people will dress up in their green garb to celebrate St. Patrick’s day. St. Patrick’s day is the feast of the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick who died on March 17th 461. While you may know that corned beef and cabbage are popular Irish traditions for this day, here are a few St. Patrick’s day facts that may surprise you.
1. In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is a national holiday. Most businesses close to celebrate the day!
2. The four-leaf clover is a significant part of the holiday. Each leaf has its own meaning: Love, Faith, Hope, and luck.
3. Your odds of finding a 4-leaf clover are about 1 in 10,000.
4. In 1737 Boston held the first stateside St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
5. According to the census, more people from Irish decent live in the US than Ireland.
6. In 1962, the Chicago river was dyed green for the first time. This is tradition they now do every year. The dye only lasts about 5 hours, is vegetable based and safe for the environment.
7. Although this is an Irish holiday, St. Patrick wasn’t even Irish! He was born in Britain. He was brought to Ireland as a slave as a teenager and that’s where his real story began.
8. On St. Patrick’s Day, more than 13 million pints of Guinness is consumed.
9. More than $245 million dollars is spent on beer on St. Patrick’s day.
10. St. Patrick’s original color was blue! The color of the holiday was changed to green with the Irish independence movement.
Have a fun and safe Holiday Weekend!
