Fact 1: March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day, a cultural and religious celebration, is celebrated annually on March 17th. St. Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland, is remembered on this day for bringing Christianity to Ireland during the 5th century. Festivities often include public parades, feasts, and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks.
Fact 2: March 17 is also the anniversary of the “Rubber Band” patent
On the same day, Stephen Perry, a British inventor, received the patent for the rubber band in 1845. Perry invented the rubber band to hold papers and envelopes together, and it is still an essential office accessory used everywhere.
Fact 3: “Drowning the Shamrock” is a tradition
“Drowning the Shamrock” is an Irish tradition on St. Patrick’s Day. A shamrock is dropped into a glass of whiskey, and it is then drunk as a toast to St. Patrick, Ireland, or to those present. The shamrock is then either swallowed with the drink or tossed over the shoulder for good luck.
Fact 4: The first St. Patrick’s Day parade occurred in New York
The first recorded St. Patrick’s Day parade took place not in Ireland, but in New York City by Irish soldiers in the British army in 1762. They marched to honor their Catholic saint. Today, the parade is the world’s oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States.
Fact 5: St. Patrick wasn’t Irish
Although St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, he was not actually born in Ireland. Instead, he was born in Britain around A.D. 390 to an aristocratic Christian family. At the age of 16, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and spent six years as a shepherd before he escaped back to his family.
Fact 6: Green wasn’t always color associated with St. Patrick’s Day
Despite the common association of green with St. Patrick's Day, blue was the color initially connected to this day. The shift to green occurred in the 17th century when the shamrock became a national symbol.
Fact 7: Chicago's green river celebration
On St. Patrick’s Day, the city of Chicago dyes its river green, a tradition that started by accident more than 40 years ago when plumbers used dye to detect illegal sewage discharge.
Fact 8: It's also "Evacuation Day" in Suffolk County, Massachusetts
In Suffolk County, Massachusetts, March 17 is celebrated as "Evacuation Day," which commemorates the departure of British troops from Boston following an 11-month siege during the American Revolutionary War.
Fact 9: There’s no corn in that beef
One traditional St. Patrick’s Day dish is corned beef and cabbage. However, there’s no actual corn in the recipe. The term "corned" comes from the usage of large grains of salt called "corns" used in the salting process.
Fact 10: Beer consumption goes up
Every March 17th sees an increase in beer consumption. It is estimated that 13 million pints of Guinness are consumed on St. Patrick’s Day.
Fact 11: It’s a public holiday in more places than just Ireland
Aside from Ireland, St. Patrick's Day is also a public holiday in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Caribbean island of Montserrat, both of which were colonized by the Irish.
Fact 12: Schools in Ireland used to close for the day
St. Patrick’s Day was originally a dry holiday in Ireland, and up until the 1970s Irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17. In 1995, the day was transformed into a national festival to boost tourism.
Fact 13: It's the "Feast of St. Gertrude" day as well
March 17 is also the Feast of St. Gertrude of Nivelles, the patron saint of gardeners and cats, celebrated by some on the same day as St. Patrick's Day.
Fact 14: March 17 is the day St. Patrick died
St. Patrick's Day is observed on March 17 because that is the date believed to be the death of St. Patrick in 461 CE.
Fact 15: Many world landmarks go green
Some of the world's most iconic landmarks, including the Pyramids of Giza and the Sydney Opera House, go green for St. Patrick's Day, as part of Tourism Ireland's "Global Greening" initiative.
Fact 16: The shortest St Patrick’s Day parade is in Ireland
The town of Dripsey in County Cork, Ireland, holds the title for the world's shortest St. Patrick's Day parade; it spans just 100 yards and travels between the town's two pubs.
Fact 17: Shamrock comes from an Irish word
The word "shamrock" comes from the Irish word "seamrog," meaning "little clover". The three-leafed plant was used by St. Patrick to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity.
Fact 18: There's a reason why leprechauns are associated with St. Patrick's Day
Leprechauns have long been associated with St. Patrick’s Day. The folklore character is derived from the Celtic belief in fairies and originally leprechauns were known for their trickery used to protect their much-fabled treasure.
Fact 19: St. Patrick's Day summer celebration in Argentina
In Buenos Aires, which hosts the world's fifth-largest St. Patrick’s Day celebration, the holiday has taken on a warmth of its own, as it falls in their summer. St. Patrick's Day has become an occasion for outdoor beer drinking and partying.
Fact 20: Saint Patrick didn’t drive snakes out of Ireland
One of the legends associated with St. Patrick is that he stood atop an Irish hillside and banished snakes from Ireland. In fact, the story is symbolic rather than literal, as snakes were never native to Ireland. The tale symbolically represents the conversion of the Irish people to Christianity and the driving out of the old druid beliefs.