Sláinte!

Hey Everyone! Dia duit! Lá Fhéile Pádraig Shona Duit! And, if you don’t speak Irish, Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! 

Well, if you have noticed, I am already in the Irish celebratory spirit for St. Patrick’s Day! Hurá! Hurá!

For the not so wise ones, St. Patrick’s Day or the Feast of Saint Patrick is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated on the 17th of March, and named in honor of the patron saint of Ireland. The festival commemorates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, as well as celebrating Irish heritage and culture. Thanks to internet and www bubble, Irishness is celebrated around the world, by many people, Irish and non-Irish alike, with food, drinks and all things GREEN!

Here are a few “interesting” things that you might not know about the Irish festival!

1. OF YORE

St. Patrick is one of the most famous patron saints of Ireland : According to the legend, he brought Christianity to the island, made the shamrock fashionable and freed Ireland from the “snakes”. The holiday marks St. Patrick’s death and has been observed as a religious holiday in Ireland for over 1500 years.

2 CHEERS TO THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT

Ireland only officially started celebrating the day in 1903. Since the Emerald Isle is mainly catholic and St. Patrick’s Day usually falls on Lent, it used to be a quiet and religious holiday – until the 1960s, when a law allowed pubs to open on St. Paddy’s Day.

3 MAEWYN SUCCAT

Born Maewyn Succat, the Irish patron saint was actually British. According to the legend, he was sold into slavery in Ireland when he was a teenager, became religious, escaped back to England, became an ordained priest named Patrick and started converting all of the Irish Celtic pagans to Christianity.

4 THE FAMOUS SHAMROCKS

It’s said that St. Patrick used shamrocks (aka clovers) to explain the holy trinity (God, Son and Holy Spirit) to the Irish.

5 HEAD OUT TO A CEILI

A céilí, or a Irish or Scottish social gathering, is a popular way to celebrate the day.
Besides the drinking and green-wearing, watching or participating in a parade is the perfect way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day! At these parties, it’s typical to find all things traditionally Gaelic, including traditional folk music, dance, and food.

6 GREEN RIVER, ANYONE?

In Chicago, the Chicago River is dyed green each year for St. Patrick’s Day.
The tradition began in 1961, and the dye used to turn the river emerald is actually a leak detection dye commonly used in plumbing. It takes 40 pounds of the dye to turn the river that bright, green hue. Phenomenal!

7 AR DTUS PARADE

The first St. Patrick’s Day parade in Ireland took place in Waterford in 1903. In the same year, St. Patrick’s Day was declared an official public holiday in Ireland.
Interestingly, the first parade in Dublin didn’t take place until 1931 (and the rest, as they say, is history!)

8 ST. PATTY’S OR ST. PADDY’S?

While many people often refer to– or spell– St. Patrick’s Day as St. Patty’s, the correct short form is actually St. Paddy’s. (It’s a casual mistake, I agree!)

9 CHEERS!

During St. Patrick’s Day, the worldwide consumption of Guinness almost triples – from 5.5 million pints on a regular day to 13 million pints! That’s 150 pints per second! Cheers!

10 NOM NOM

Corned beef and cabbage is a classic dish that goes extremely well with all that beer – even though the dish was “invented” by Irish immigrants in New York. This might explain why in the US, over 26 billion pounds of beef and over two billion pounds of cabbage are produced during the holiday.

11 ÉIRINN GO BRACH 

On St. Patrick’s Day, it’s common to hear shouts of Éirinn go Brách, or the more anglicized Erin go Bragh. The Irish phrase translates to “Ireland forever”. Long live Ireland indeed!

Have a happy St. Patrick’s Day y’all – Wear green so you don’t get pinched, accessorize with some shamrocks, eat traditional Irish food, put bottoms up at an Irish pub and may be, may be go light(ish) on the beer!

Slán go fóill – See you later!

Love,

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