St Patrick's Day Facts.
On March 17th it is usually said that there are two types of people in this world, the Irish and those who want to be Irish. Well, there is no better way to describe St. Patrick's Day than "Everybody is Irish on St Patrick's Day"
St. Patrick was not actually Irish! He was a Romano-Briton Christian missionary born in England and his given name was Maewyn Succat. He was taken as a slave to Ireland by a marauder called Niall of the Nine hostages. He escaped six years later and became a priest in Britain. In order to help spread the teachings of Christianity to pagans, he returned to Ireland as a missionary. It is said he played an important role in converting the inhabitants of Ireland to Christianity and that he rid Ireland of snakes. However, there is no evidence that there have been any snakes in Ireland in the past 10,000 years. The stories of Saint Patrick and the snakes are likely a metaphor for his bringing Christianity to Ireland and driving out the pagan religions (serpents were a common symbol in many of these religions). According to legend, Saint Patrick used a shamrock to explain about God. The shamrock, which looks like clover, has three leaves on each stem. Saint Patrick told the people that the shamrock was like the idea of the Trinity, that in the one God there are three divine beings: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The shamrock was sacred to the Druids, so Saint Patrick's use of it in explaining the trinity was very wise.According to Irish folklore, he also used a shamrock to explain the Christian concept of Trinity to the Irish. In spite of continuous opposition from pagan leaders, he continued to evangelize for thirty years while baptizing newly converted Christians and establishing monasteries, churches, and schools. St. Patrick's Day is observed on March 17 because that is the feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It is believed that he died on March 17 in the year 461 AD.
St. Patrick's Day was first publicly celebrated in Boston in 1737 where a large population of Irish immigrants resided. Nearly 200 years later, the first St. Patrick's Day parade in the Irish Free State was held in Dublin in 1931. During the mid 90's, the Irish government also began a campaign to promote tourism in Ireland on March 17th.
According to the United States Census, 36 million Americans have Irish ancestry. Yet the population of Ireland is only 4.4 million.
O’Neill is the “Irish Capital of Nebraska,” and home to the world’s largest shamrock.
In 1995, Congress proclaimed March to be Irish-American Heritage Month.
The color originally associated with St. Patrick was blue; green became associated during the 19th century. Wearing green, eating green food and even drinking green beer, is said to commemorate St Patrick's use of the shamrock.
The color green is also commonly associated with Ireland, also known as “The Emerald Isle.”
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.
In 1737 in Boston the first St Patrick’s Day parade took place.
Today New York’s St. Patrick’s Day parade is the longest running civilian parade in the world.
At the beginning of March, McDonald's offers its Shamrock Shake.
On any given day 5.5 million pints of Guinness, the famous Irish stout brand, are consumed around the world, but on St. Patrick’s Day, that number more than doubles to 13 million pints. Guinness was first brewed in Dublin in 1759 and is the unofficial drink of St Patrick's day. Pubs in Ireland were closed on St. Patrick’s Day as officially it is a religious holiday, but this law was relaxed in the 1970′s and the pubs are now open.
St Patrick was said to have proclaimed that everyone should have a drop of the "hard stuff" on his feast day after chastising an innkeeper who served a short measure of whiskey. In the custom known as "drowning the shamrock", the shamrock that has been worn on a lapel or hat is put in the last drink of the evening.
Popular Irish toasts on St Patrick's Day, include: may the roof above us never fall in, and may we friends beneath it never fall out.
St. Patrick’s Day did not become a national holiday in Ireland in 1903.
When celebrating St. Patrick’s Day raise your pint and wish your drinking buddies
“Slainté!”(pronounced SLAN-cha) which means “health!”.
On St. Patrick’s Day, Hallmark usually sells anywhere from 8-15 million St. Patrick’s Day cards each year.
There are four towns in the United States named Shamrock located in Texas, West Virginia, Indiana, and Oklahoma.
Corned beef and cabbage is an American Saint Patrick’s Day meal.
Many people wear green on this holiday to avoid being pinched.
The shortest St Patrick's Day parade in the world takes place in Dripsey, Cork. The parade lasts just 100 yards and travels between the village's two pubs. Source
Facts about Clovers
- 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.
- Lucky four-leaf clover means something: the first is for hope, the second for faith, the third for love and the fourth for luck.
Irish Curses |
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May those who love us love us.
May his spade never dig may his sow never pig Dip him snug and airy in river or lake,Where the eel and the trout may feed on the snout |
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Irish Drinking Toasts |
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May your glass be ever full.
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Irish Proverbs |
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A drink precedes a story. A friend's eye is a good mirror. A hen is heavy when carried far. A hound's food is in its legs. A lock is better than suspicion. A silent mouth is melodious. A trade not properly learned is an enemy. Age is honorable and youth is noble. As the big hound is, so will the pup be. Be neither intimate nor distant with the clergy. Both your friend and your enemy think you will never die. Even a small thorn causes festering. Good as drink is, it ends in thirst. He who comes with a story to you brings two away from you. He who gets a name for early rising can stay in bed until midday. If you do not sow in the spring you will not reap in the autumn. If you want to be criticized, marry. Instinct is stronger than upbringing. It is a bad hen that does not scratch herself. It is a long road that has no turning. It is better to exist unknown to the law. It is not a secret if it is known by three people. It is sweet to drink but bitter to pay for. It is the good horse that draws its own cart. It is the quiet pigs that eat the meal. It takes time to build castles. Rome wan not built in a day. It's not a matter of upper and lower class but of being up a while and down a while. Lack of resource has hanged many a person. Listen to the sound of the river and you will get a trout. May you have a bright future - as the chimney sweep said to his son. Mere words do not feed the friars. Nature breaks through the eyes of the cat. Necessity is the mother of invention. Necessity knows no law. Need teaches a plan. Patience is poultice for all wounds. Youth does not mind where it sets its foot. You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was. |
People live in each other's shelter. Put silk on a goat, and it's still a goat. Quiet people are well able to look after themselves. The day will come when the cow will have use for her tail. The hole is more honorable than the patch. The light heart lives long. The man with the boots does not mind where he places his foot. The mills of God grind slowly but they grind finely. The raggy colt often made a powerful horse. The smallest thing outlives the human being. The wearer best knows where the shoe pinches. The well fed does not understand the lean. The work praises the man. The world would not make a racehorse of a donkey. There is hope from the sea, but none from the grave. There is no fireside like your own fireside. There is no luck except where there is discipline. There is no need like the lack of a friend. There is no strength without unity. Thirst is the end of drinking and sorrow is the end of drunkenness. Three diseases without shame: Love, itch and thirst. Time is a great story teller. Two shorten the road. Two thirds of the work is the semblance. Walk straight, my son - as the old crab said to the young crab. When a twig grows hard it is difficult to twist it. Every beginning is weak. When fire is applied to a stone it cracks. When the apple is ripe it will fall. When the drop (drink) is inside, the sense is outside. When the liquor was gone the fun was gone. Wine divulges truth. You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. You must live with a person to know a person. If you want to know me come and live with me. Youth sheds many a skin. The steed (horse) does not retain its speed forever. |
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