An Irish Toast and 12 St. Patrick's Day Fun Facts Worth Knowing

 










Did you know...

1. St. Patrick was not Irish. He was born in either Scotland or Wales. At the young age of 16, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and sold into slavery. He spent six years herding sheep in Ireland before escaping. 

2. Legend has it, St Patrick drove all of the snakes out of Ireland. (Truth is, there is no evidence of snakes ever even being in Ireland! Geologists claim this is due to the Ice Age, NOT St Patrick.)

3. St. Patrick's day was a 'dry' holy day of remembrance in Ireland until 1970. (I love when people embrace change.)


4. Your odds of finding a four-leaf clover are about 1 and 10,000. (It can be done!)

5. The phrase, "Drowning The Shamrock" is from the custom of floating a shamrock on the top of whiskey before drinking it. The Irish believe that if you keep the custom, then you will have a prosperous year.

6. Legend says that each leaf of the clover means something: Hope, Faith, Love, and Luck.

7. There are more Irish in the US than in Ireland. An estimated 33.7 million people living in the US are of Irish descent. That is NINE times the total population of Ireland! 

8.  No one is really sure where St. Patrick is buried. The site with the strongest claim is at Down Cathedral, where a large slab of rock on which the word "Patric" is inscribed.
St. Patrick died on March 17, 461 AD

9. The custom of celebrating St. Patrick's Day began in America in 1737.



(I at the fabulous parade my city puts on every year!) 

10. There are 4 US Cities named Shamrock. They are located in Texas, W. Virginia, Indiana, and Oklahoma. 

11. Ever Wonder how they dye the Chicago River greenThe dyeing of the Chicago River dates to 1962, when Mayor Richard J. Daley and Stephen M. Bailey, a boyhood friend and then-St. Patrick's Day parade chairman started the tradition. Today by boat, three men use flour sifters to dump about 40 pounds of an environmentally friendly orange powder into the river. The formula for the powder, which turns the water bright green when it hits, is top-secret.


                                  

12. An estimated 13 MILLION pints of Guinness are consumed on St. Patrick's day!


An Irish Toast: 
May your glass be ever full.
       May the roof over your head be always strong.
                       And may you be in heaven half an hour 
before the devil knows you're dead.


**Looking for some awesome St Patrick's Day Cocktails and Snacks and crafts? Check out my St Patty's board on Pinterest.


April is an award-winning writer and blogger. Her work has been published in over ten countries and four languages. From books to newspapers, to print/online magazines and everything in between, you can find her work. For more on April, Visit AprilMcCormick.com