Up until recently, I thought Saint Patrick’s Day was all about drinks, drinks and more drinks especially beer… After all that’s how this day is celebrated by many around the world not forgetting the many parades by beer drinking men and women and jovial kids all dressed in green. As it turns out, the Feast of Saint Patrick, is an annual cultural and religious celebration marked on 17th March which is the date of Saint Patrick’s passing, the most recognized patron saint of Ireland. Here are other interesting facts about St. Patrick’s day;
- One of the largest Saint Patrick’s Day Parade is in New York City with marchers adding up to several hundred thousands since 1762.
- Patrick wasn’t Irish! He however made his mark by introducing Christianity to Ireland but he was born to Roman parents in Scotland or Wales.
- Patrick’s color is blue and not green as commonly believed. Green was associated with the country later, presumably because of the greenness of the countryside, which is so because Ireland receives plentiful rainfall. In Irish legends, green was allegedly worn by fairies, and also by people to encourage their crops to grow.
- In Chicago, the rivers are dyed green on St. Patrick’s Day and in Seattle, there is a ceremony where a green stripe is painted down the roads. Many bars in the United States, and abroad also serve green beer to celebrate.
- St. Patrick used the shamrock, the familiar three-leafed clover (each leaf is believed to mean something: the first is for hope, the second for faith, the third for love and the fourth for luck), to explain the Christian Holy Trinity. The clover fun fact is that your odds of finding a four leaf clover are 1 in 10,000!!