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Well, paint me a leprechaun and slap a four-leaved clover on me; it’s Saint Paddy’s day! Want to learn more about this all-green, all kiss-me-I’m-Irish celebration? As a leprechaun would say, you’re in luck, for you’ve opened an article full of facts about St. Patrick’s day. From its origins to present-day celebrations and noteworthy things that happened during the festivities, this is your ultimate guide to celebrating St. Paddy’s Day in its fullness and based on historical facts.

Now, the name of the celebration already dictates that its origins stem from the world of Christian saints and days dedicated to them. Coincidentally, St. Patrick was the patron of Ireland, and it is his death that is remembered on this day. Hence the celebration being about everything Ireland! However, you can be sure that there’s much more to learn about this fun celebration, but you’ll have to check the actual St. Patrick’s Day facts below to learn all about it. Rest assured, though, that you’ll find the answers to all the burning questions you might have, like why leprechauns, how many pints of Guinness are consumed during the day, and why a St. Patrick’s celebration tends to get so loud and rowdy at one point or another. Trust us; we’ve left no stone unturned here!

Now, me foine lads, ready to check out the interesting facts? If so, just scroll on down below until you reach them! For now, these pieces of St. Patrick’s day trivia are a bit jumbled up, so rank them by voting on them. And lastly, share this article with your friends so you can all celebrate the day with newfound knowledge about it!

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#1

Even space travelers celebrate Saint Patrick's Day.

Saint Patrick's Day is observed in all nations, including those in lower orbits. Aboard Saint Patrick's Day 2013, astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded himself singing "Danny Boy" on NASA's International Space Station. The same year, astronaut Cady Coleman celebrated by playing the flute in the satellite.

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#2

Since 1962, Chicago has colored its river green every year.

In 1962, the dyeing custom became an annual occurrence, marking nearly 60 years since. Don't worry; the dye is safe for the environment; 40 pounds are used to color the river, maintaining it for four to five hours.

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Benita Valdez
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And for anyone concerned: "The dye used is a food grade dye also used in medicine, as the colorant for antifreeze and as a tracer dye. Illinois EPA found that at the concentration used in the Chicago River, it is completely non-toxic," reads a statement from the EPA

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#3

For the majority of the 20th century, St. Patrick's Day was observed as a religious holiday in Ireland, hence on March 17, all bars would be closed. Everything changed in 1970 when it was declared a national holiday, and pubs quickly became the place where people went to celebrate.

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#4

In the USA, more than 34.8 million people have Irish heritage.

To put that in perspective, it has a population that is more than seven times that of Ireland. Just behind German, Irish is the second most prevalent heritage among Americans. With 12.9% of its population claiming Irish heritage, New York has the largest concentration of Irish people.

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#5

The First St. Patrick’s Day parade was held in America. A St. Patrick's Day parade was held on March 17, 1601 in a Spanish colony in what is now St. Augustine, Florida.

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#6

America once looked down on the Irish.

While Irish Americans are today happy to display their background, other Americans do not always value the Irish. A terrible potato blight in 1845 led to widespread starvation in Ireland. In the most significant single population shift of the 19th century, 2 million people left their homes and farms while about 1 million died. As a result, nearly a quarter of the Irish people, most exiles, arrived on American soil. When they first arrived, the Irish refugees were despised as sickly, unskilled, and a burden on social funds.

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Benita Valdez
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

NINA was a huge thing when Irish immigrants went looking for jobs; signs were placed in windows and just said NINA and nothing more. NINA being No Irish Need Apply

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#7

Over 100 countries around the world celebrate St Patrick’s day!

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Singapore – Where they also dye the river green! Tokyo, Dubai, Istanbul, and Oslo. The list continues forever!

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#8

People get pinched if you don't wear green on St. Patrick's Day.

The legend of the green-clad, red-haired Leprechaun is connected to a mystical kind of fairy that can be used for good or evil. On St. Patrick's Day, when we all wear green to honor St. Patrick, the leprechaun mythology is frequently connected to the holiday. Folklore holds that green renders you invisible to the nefarious leprechauns, who pinch everybody they can see on St. Patrick's Day!

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Jeremy James
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just don't wear green on the beach. Nyai Roro Kidul might get you. 😉

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#9

Guinness is the most widely consumed alcoholic beverage on St. Patrick's Day. 13 million pints of Guinness will be consumed worldwide on St. Patrick's Day. The typical consumer will spend $36.50, most likely on Guinness. So the total amount spent on St. Patrick's Day will be $4.6 billion.

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#10

The likelihood of discovering a four-leaf clover is one in 10,000.

A white clover with 56 leaves holds the Guinness world record! The likelihood of finding a four-leaf white clover is 1 in 10,000, and the likelihood decreases after that. White five-leaf clovers are 1 in 100,000 rare!

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Huddo's sister
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Actually, if you find the correct type of clover plant, you will find many 4-leaf clovers.

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#11

One of the myths surrounding St. Patrick is that he stood on a hillside in Ireland and forbade snakes from living there, causing all snakes to slither into the sea. Evidence indicates that snakes may have never existed in the Emerald Isle. Snake remains have not been found in the nation's fossil record. And ever since the last glacial epoch, water has encircled Ireland. The area had been covered with ice before that, making it too cold for the reptiles to survive.

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Huddo's sister
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It, like much of Christian mythology, was a metaphor. The 'snakes' were non-Christans (aka the Irish population who hadn't already been made to convert)

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#12

The Pope changed the name of Saint Patrick.

When Maewyn Succat completed his training, Pope Celestine I gave him the new name "Patricius" or "Patrick" (meaning parent or nobleman). Then St. Patrick began his missionary work in Ireland. St. Patrick was imprisoned, beaten, and attacked as he worked to promote his message. With the founding of numerous Christian churches and institutions, it seemed that he had gained a great deal of popularity toward the end of his career.

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#13

The first St. Patrick's Day was blue! According to historians, Irish soldiers dressed in full green uniforms on March 17 during the Irish Rebellion of 1798, an uprising against British control in Ireland, to make a political statement. As a result, the color changed from blue to green. Some claim that this is the origin of the term "the emerald isle."

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Vix Spiderthrust
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Whoever these "some" are, they're wrong. It's from a poem and refers specifically to Ireland's lush grass.

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#14

Only two nations worldwide observe St. Patrick's Day as a public holiday.

Montserrat and Ireland, including Northern Ireland. In Montserrat, St. Patrick's Day is observed to honor the island's Irish heritage and recall the slave uprising on March 17, 1768. Visitors to the island receive an Irish shamrock stamp on this day. However, the rest of the world didn't pay attention to this specific colonial history until 1971.

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#15

More than 600 stadiums, sculptures, museums, and towers will be illuminated green on St. Patrick's Day!

Including the Sydney Opera House, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the Roman Colosseum. This year, more than 600 prominent landmark buildings worldwide are expected to be light green to commemorate St. Patrick's Day as part of the wildly successful "Global Greening" program.

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#16

St. Patrick escaped Ireland by boat. St. Patrick's Confession, a book allegedly authored by him, claims that God instructed Patrick to escape his captors and head for the coast, where a boat would be waiting to transport him back home.

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Ruth Kennedy
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

At first the sailors wouldn't let him sail because he refused to suck their nipples. Yep. Google it.

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#17

The real St. Patrick was born in Britain.

The folklore and legend surrounding St. Patrick's life have been woven into much of what is known about him. Most historians concur that St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was born near the end of the fourth century in Britain rather than Ireland. He was abducted by Irish robbers when he was 16 and given to a Celtic priest in Northern Ireland as an enslaved person. He fled back to Britain after working as a shepherd for six years. He finally made a missionary trip back to Ireland.

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Deborah Harris2
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Born in Scotland ... one day I live in hope that people outside of the UK will learn the difference between England , Ireland Scotland and Wales .. we are not all born in the same Country .. the guy was a Scott ... not a Brit. Britain was not founded until the 1700s .. over a thousand years later

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#18

Shamrocks were revered as sacred plants.

Ireland has long been linked to the shamrock, a three-leaf clover. The Celts referred to it as "seamroy" and revered it as a sacred plant that heralded the coming of spring. Legend states that St. Patrick explained the Holy Trinity using the plant as a visual aid. The shamrock had come to represent burgeoning Irish nationalism by the 17th century.

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#19

Argentina hosts South America's largest St. Patrick's Day event.

Argentina is one of the most unexpected nations to observe St. Patrick's Day. The biggest St. Patrick's Day celebration in South America is in Buenos Aires. A party is held in the city center, among other festivals and events that take place all around the place.

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#20

St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York receives more than 5.5 million visitors annually.

This 1879-dedicated New York City landmark receives more than five million tourists annually. It is one of the city's most impressive architectural sights, with spires reaching 330 feet in height. Its interior features a large organ with 7,855 pipes, several altars, stained glass windows, and 2,400 seats.

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#21

The 17th of March is always the date of St. Patrick's Day.

Patrick's Day is recognized annually on March 17, though festivities are not necessarily restricted to this day. March 17 has special meaning because it is thought to commemorate the anniversary of St. Patrick's death in the late fifth century (circa A.D. 493).

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#22

Down Cathedral is where St. Patrick's remains are allegedly located.

It is thought that St. Patrick's remains are interred at Down Cathedral in County Down. On the site of a Benedictine Monastery, the Church of Ireland built this magnificent cathedral.

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#23

On St. Patrick's Day, people often eat Irish soda bread. Before baking, the dough is occasionally marked with a cross to fend off the devil.

Cut a Cross on the top of your soda bread to keep the devil out. In the 19th century, it was thought that cutting a cross into your bread would allow the devil to escape while it baked. Additionally, it was thought that the symbolism could be viewed as blessing the bread and expressing gratitude.

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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's eaten year round. Never heard this before and I'm Irish.

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#24

Celtic fairies are likely the inspiration for leprechauns.

The Leprechaun with a green outfit and red hair symbolizes St. Patrick's Day. These folkloric characters are known by their Irish appellation, "lobaircin," which translates to "small-bodied person." The Celtic concept of fairies—tiny people with magical abilities who may use them for good or evil—is thought to be the origin of the belief in leprechauns. Leprechauns were grumpy characters who fixed the other fairies' shoes in Celtic folklore.

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#25

Corned beef and cabbage originated in America.

Corned beef and cabbage, a dish that has become a St. Patrick's Day tradition nationwide, was created in America. While ham and cabbage were traditional Irish fare, poor immigrants had access to corned beef as a less expensive alternative. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Irish Americans who lived in the lower Manhattan slums bought leftover corned beef from ships coming back from the tea trade in China. The Irish would boil the beef three times to eliminate some of the salinity to eliminate some of the salinity, finally adding the cabbage.

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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Corned beef and cabbage, a dish that has become a St. Patrick's Day tradition nationwide," - what?

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#26

St Patrick’s name was originally Maewyn Succat.

Saint Patrick was born Maewyn Succat and took the name ‘Patricius’ in his writings. This name is Patraic in Old Irish, which is equivalent to Patrick in English. Can you imagine a St. Maewyn Succat holiday? The remainder of Saint Patrick's life was spent in Ireland. He established churches all over the nation and proclaimed the gospel. He passed away on March 17, 461, at Saul, where he had established his first church.

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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'd rather celebrate the life and ministry of St. Patrick versus the drinking day that it has become.

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#27

According to legend, the clover's four leaves stand for hope, faith, love, and luck. The proverb "the luck of the Irish" refers to the widespread belief that Ireland has the highest concentration of four-leaf clovers of any country. Look for more if you're fortunate enough to come across one!

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#28

The "Feast of Saint Patrick" is another name for St. Patrick's Day.

Saint Patrick's Day, also known as the Feast of Saint Patrick (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit. "the Day of the Festival of Patrick"), is an annual religious and cultural event that takes place on March 17 in honor of Saint Patrick, the most important patron saint of Ireland (c. 385–c. 461).

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