Who is St. Patrick?

As we all know St. Patty’s day is right around the corner. We all we need to wear green so we don’t get pinched and get those delicious shamrock shakes from McDonalds. But do we know who S. Patrick is and why we celebrate this holiday?

Saint Patrick lived during the 5^th century. He is known as the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. But St. Patrick isn’t Irish at all; he was born in Roman Britain. At the age of 16 he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave. He escaped later on but came back to teach the Irish about Christianity. Legend has it that he explained to the Irish the Holy Trinity using the three leaves of a shamrock. The day we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day is believed to be the day he died March 17, 461.

Around the ninth or 10th century, people in Ireland have been observing the Roman Catholic feast day of St. Patrick on March 17. However, the first parade to honor St. Patrick's Day took place not in Ireland but in the United States. On March 17, 1762, Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City. Along with their music, the parade helped the soldiers reconnect with their Irish roots, as well as with fellow Irishmen serving in the English army.

In 1848, several New York Irish Aid societies decided form one official New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade. Today, that parade is the world’s oldest parade and the largest in the United States, with over 150,000 participants. Each year, nearly 3 million people line the 1.5-mile parade route to watch the procession, which takes more than five hours.

In 1962 Chicago annual dyed the Chicago River green.  This started when city pollution-control workers used dyes to trace illegal sewage discharges and realized that the green dye might provide a unique way to celebrate the holiday. That year, they released 100 pounds of green vegetable dye into the river enough to keep it green for a week! Today, in order to minimize environmental damage, only 40 pounds of dye are used, and the river turns green for only several hours.

Fun Facts

Until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17.

More than 100 St. Patrick’s Day parades are held across the United Sates; New York City and Boston are home to the largest celebrations.

Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional St. Patrick's Day dish. In 2009, roughly 26.1 billion pounds of beef and 2.3 billion pounds of cabbage were produced in the United States.

There are 36.9 million U.S. residents with Irish roots. This number is more than eight times the population of Ireland itself (4.5 million).

There are approximately 122,000 current U.S. residents who were born in Ireland.

Irish ranks among the top five ancestries in every state except Hawaii and New Mexico. It is the leading ancestry group in Delaware, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

The Irish flag is green, white and orange. The green symbolizes the people of the south, and orange, the people of the north. White represents the peace that brings them together as a nation.

The name “lephrechaun” has several origins. It could be from the Irish Gaelic word “leipreachan,” which means “a kind of aqueous sprite.” Or, it could be from “leath bhrogan,” which means “shoemaker.”

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the highest number of leaves found on a clover is 14!

One estimate suggests that there are about 10 000 regular three-leaf clovers for every lucky four-leaf clover.     

Legend says that each leaf of the clover means something: the first is for hope, the second for faith, the third for love and the fourth for luck.

Blue not green is the color originally associated with St Patrick. “St Patrick’s Blue” is used on Ireland's Presidential Standard or flag, while the Irish Guards sport a plume of St Patrick’s blue in their bearskins. The emphasis on green is thought to be linked to “wearing the Green”, a symbol from the 18th century on, of sympathy with Irish independence.

Also check out our green outfits for St. Patty's day here

-Allison