St. Patrick’s Day is this Thursday — so I thought I would provide you with some interesting facts that you can use, to dazzle your friends and family. I assure you, they will be in awe of your vast St. Patrick’s Day knowledge!
I searched the web – far and wide – for what I thought were the most interesting and surprising facts about St. Patrick’s Day. So here they are:
Random Facts about St. Patrick’s Day
- Shamrocks are the national flower of Ireland. St. Patrick used the Shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity; The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. The Four-leaf clover is used to represent; faith, hope, love, and luck.
- The original color used to represent St. Patrick’s Day was blue — not green.
- Each year – starting in 1962 – the Chicago River is dyed green in honor of St. Patrick’s day.
- The original Guinness Brewery in Dublin had a 9,000 year lease. As noted on the Guinness website, “The 1759 lease is no longer valid as the Company purchased the lands outright many years ago.“
- Corned beef is actually not the traditional Irish meal for St. Patrick’s Day. The Irish are far more likely to serve Bacon and Cabbage. Irish bacon was quite expensive so to save money Irish-Americans began using corned beef instead.
- According to Irish folklore, when leprechauns aren’t hanging out at rainbows, hiding pots of gold, or granting wishes — they are shoe makers. That must be their day job. Hey — they’ve got to pay the bills too ya know!
- Speaking of leprechauns, they were first described to be wearing red and gold — not green.
- St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17th because he is believed to have died March 17th in the year 461 AD.
Have a Wonderful St. Patrick’s Day!
Do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?