8 Things You May Not Know About St. Patrick’s Day!
CHELTENHAM, ENGLAND - MARCH 17: A woman wears a pair of shamrock shaped glasses during St Patrick's Day at the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse on March 17, 2016 in Cheltenham, England. The four day annual jump racing event sees jockeys compete for a piece of the 4.1 million GBP of the prize money. (Photo by Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images)
St. Patrick’s Day is this Saturday, but how much do you REALLY know about the holiday?
Here are 10 things you may now know about St. Patrick’s Day:
1.) The first ever St. Patrick’s Day parade was in the US, not Ireland
- The first recorded St. Patrick’s Day parade was held not in Ireland but in New York City in 1762,
2.) St. Patrick’s was a dry holiday in Ireland until 1970.
- Irish law, from 1903 to 1970, declared St. Patrick’s Day a religious observance for the entire country meaning that all pubs were shut down for the day.
3.) St. Patrick was actually from England, not Ireland.
- At sixteen, he was brought to Ireland as a slave.
4.) There are more Irish in the US than Ireland.
- According to the US Census, 32.7 million US residents claimed Irish ancestry in 2015.
5.) We should be wearing blue, not green
- Saint Patrick didn’t wear green. His color was “Saint Patrick’s blue.” Green became the color associated with St. Patrick’s Day during the Irish independence movement in the late 18th century.
6.) The Shamrock has meaning
- Saint Patrick used the shamrock as a metaphor for the Holy Trinity when he was first introducing Christianity to Ireland.
7.) Your chances of finding a 4 leaf clover are not good
- 1 in 10,000 to be exact
8.) Lots of people drink Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day
- Sales of Guinness almost double on St Patrick’s Day, as compared to the regular days when 5.5 million pints of it are sold.
Hi, I'm Cameron! I was born and raised in North Carolina. I'm a super tall redhead who is always down for tacos, enchiladas, and margaritas. Okay, so Mexican food is my personal favorite, but I’m not saying no if you’re trying to eat out on the town anywhere. I I am on air for middays but also the Program Director for Kiss 95.1. I enjoy connecting with Kiss 95.1’s amazing listeners and being able to bring all of my favorite things like food, wine, and life online into digital content.
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