10 things you should know about St. Patrick's Day
On March 17th, we're all a little Irish. Although St. Patrick's Day is a public holiday in only a few countries or islands - namely the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Montserrat - being Irish is celebrated all over the world. We've rounded up 10 fun facts about St. Patrick's Day to help you bring your inner Irishman to life:
1. From Legend to Tradition
St. Patrick is one of Ireland's most famous patron saint. According to legend, he brought Christianity to the island, made the shamrock a fashion statement, and rid Ireland of the snake plague. The holiday takes place on the anniversary of St Patrick's death and has been a religious holiday in Ireland for over 1,500 years.
2. St. Patrick's Day is an official holiday!
The day has only been officially celebrated in Ireland since 1903. Since the Emerald Isle is primarily Catholic and St. Patrick's Day falls on the same day as the beginning of Lent, it was originally a quiet and religious holiday. Until 1960, a law allowed pubs to open on St Patrick's Day. (Don't ever say "St. Patty's Day"!)
3. The Patron Saint also known as Maewyn
St. Patrick's name is not Irish: the Irish patron saint, Maewyn Succat, was British. According to legend, he was sold into slavery in Ireland when he was just a teenager. He became religious, fled back to England, became an ordained priest named Patrick, and began converting Irish Celtic pagans to Christianity. Incidentally, due to the rivalry with the Celtic druids, St. Patrick was not nearly as popular during his lifetime as he is today.
4. Delivering from the snakes
Legend has it that St. Patrick rid Ireland of the plague of snakes. According to biologists, however, snakes never actually existed in Ireland. The diplomatic explanation is that the serpents are a metaphor for the paganism that St. Patrick has supplanted.
5. The popular shamrocks
It is said that St. Patrick used shamrocks (or simply clover) to explain the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit) to the Irish. The Celts believed that each leaf of the clover had meaning and hence the use of the clover as a teaching material was successful: St Patrick founded many churches, schools, and monasteries; and made the shamrock popular.
6. The color of the day is green
There is green everywhere as far as the eye can see - from hair to clothing to even food. We're not talking spinach here, we're talking bagels, pancakes, and even beer—if you can add green food coloring, it's served on St. Patrick's Day. But the fun with colors doesn't end there: rivers, monuments, and even entire ski resorts turn green to commemorate the occasion. Only the Irish beer Guinness is never colored green.
7. In the beginning it was blue
Although everyone and everything goes green, St. Patrick apparently preferred blue. Evidence can still be found on old Irish flags. However, during the Irish Rebellion in 1798, wearing shamrocks and the color green became – and remains to this day – a symbol of national belonging.
8. St. Patrick's Parade
Aside from drinking and wearing green, attending or participating in a parade is the best way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Interestingly, many of the largest parades take place outside of Ireland, as expatriate communities around the world take the celebrations very seriously. A colorful parade also takes place in Ireland's capital Dublin every year.
9. Cheers!
On St. Patrick's Day, the global consumption of Guinness almost triples from 5.5 million pints on a regular day to 13 million pints. That's 150 pints a second! Well, then cheers!
10. Beef And Cabbage
Corned beef and cabbage is a signature dish that goes so well with beer—although this meal was “invented” by Irish immigrants in New York. This may also explain why more than 11 billion kilograms of beef and more than 900 million kilograms of cabbage are consumed in the United States on this holiday.
Read also: