St. Patrick's Day: Facts, Traditions, Blessings, Toasts, and Fun Games

St. Patrick's Day- A day filled with fact, traditions, blessings, and toasts. But where did all these come from? Here is a brief look at a few of these.

FACTS AND TRADITIONS

1. Since it is believed that St. Patrick died on March 17, in about 460 A.D. the Irish have celebrated it as a religious holiday for over a thousand years. Irish immigrants in Boston began observing the holiday publicly in 1737.

2. According to Hallmark research, 82.4 percent of Americans wear green on St. Patrick's Day. This is of course to avoid the tradition of being pinched.

3. Ireland is not the only place there is a Dublin. You can also find one in California, Ohio, New Hampshire, Georgia, and Virginia.

4. Often heard on St. Patrick's Day is the phrase "Erin Go Braugh". This phrase means "Ireland Forever".

5. Like to play music? Traditional Irish instruments include the fiddle, uilleann, pipes (elaborate bagpipes), tin whistle (a type of flute), and the bodhran (a type of drum)

irish instruments

6. Seen as a symbol of renewal in Spring, the shamrock was a sacred plant to the Celts in ancient Ireland. Since then it has become a symbol of Irish heritage and nationalism. the shamrock

7. Snakes? Many have heard that St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland with a wave of his staff. St. Patrick banishing snakes Actually, there were never really that many snakes and it was thought that they were a metaphor for St. Patrick converting the pagans in Ireland.

8. Think leprechauns are cute? leprechaun (modern) Originally, in Celtic folklore, the leprechauns were mean little men. leprechaun (original) Their job was to fix the shoes of the fairies. The jovial and friendly leprechaun was an American invention.

9. Heard of going green? On St. Patrick's day this takes on a whole different meaning. Since 1962, the city of Chicago started dyeing the Chicago river green on St. Patrick's Day. Chicago River Originally it stayed green for a week, but to lessen the effect on the environment only enough vegetable dye is now used to make it green for a few hours.