10 Amazing St. Patrick’s Day Facts

Irish communities all over the world will celebrate St Patrick’s Day on 17th March, with many cities holding parades and parties. So, The List Love thought we’d have a little celebration of our own and provide 10 amazing facts about St. Patrick’s Day.

1. St Patrick

images via www.roble.pntic.mec.es

Whilst Saint Patrick might be the patron saint of Ireland, he wasn’t born in the country. He was born to wealthy parents from England. He was kidnapped at 16 years old and brought to Ireland.

2. Green

images via www.holycitysinner.com

Green is synonymous with St. Patrick’s Day as the colour is used to commemorate the patron’s use of the shamrock. He used the shamrock when preaching as a symbol of the holy trinity.

3. The Toast

images via www.jsonline.com

There is a  popular toast you can make on St. Patrick’s Day: “may the roof above us never fall in, and may we friends beneath it never fall out”.

4. The First Celebration

images via www.onepiecetravel.com

You probably think St. Patrick’s Day was first celebrated in Ireland, right? You’d be wrong. It was actually first celebrated in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1737.

5. Chicago

images via www.en.wikipedia.org

Chicago dye their river green for a few hours every year to celebrate the St. Patrick’s Day holiday.

6. St Patrick’s Death

image via www.blog.retini.com

Why do we celebrate St Patrick’s Day on 17th March every year? It’s because it’s the date the patron saint of Ireland died.

7. The Myth

image via news.nationalgeographic.com

Many people honour St. Patrick’s Day every year because he reportedly performed a miracle by driving all the snakes out of Ireland. The thing is, there’s no evidence of an outbreak of snakes in the country. You can read more about this myth here: www.thelistlove.com/10-weird-and-wonderful-ireland-facts/

8. The Symbol

images via www.theflagshop.co.uk

What’s the first Irish symbol you can think of? We bet the shamrock comes to mind. You’ll probably be shocked to learn that the harp is actually the official symbol of the Emerald Isle, which is why Guinness use it on their logo.

9. Tee-Total

images via www.more.com

Many people raise a glass to good old St. Patrick on the 17th March, despite the fact it’s the last thing he’d want you to do. He once chastised an innkeeper for serving a short measure of whiskey on his feast day, and so ordered everyone to drop the drink.

10. Good Luck

images via www.vanishingtattoo.com

It’s considered good luck to find a four leaf clover on St Patrick’s Day. You’ll really need good luck though as the odds of finding one is 1 in 10,000.

Stay up-to-date with The List Love’s latest top 10 lists and follow us today on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Got a St Patrick’s Day fact? Drop us a comment.