Lucky facts about St. Patrick’s Day
Every year on March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day is commemorated in Ireland, as well as many other countries. What began as a religious feast honoring Ireland’s patron saint evolved over centuries into a worldwide celebration of Irish culture that is enjoyed on nearly every continent. If you want to learn more about this holiday and to get the famous luck of the Irish, here are some lucky facts about this holiday.
As the name indicates, this holiday honors St. Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint, and is celebrated on March 17th, the day of his death. Because there are few written sources, little is known about him. It is known that he was born in Britain and served as a bishop in Ireland, being canonized and designated the guardian of the Emerald Isle after his death.
The most widely observed national holiday in the world is St. Patrick’s Day. Apart from Ireland, parades and concerts are held throughout the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and various European and Latin American nations with a sizable Irish diaspora. It is celebrated in certain cities with special customs, such as in Chicago, where the Chicago River is painted green every year.
When it comes to parades, certain customs date back over 300 years. Irish immigrants first celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in the United States in 1737, and the first parade was held in New York City three decades later in 1766.
Although it is not a custom everywhere where it is celebrated,it has become an additional reason to offer each other simple but symbolic presents and gifts for St. Patrick’s Day in recent years. The gifts are meant to be thoughtful and traditional, and are frequently intended for the entire family. Knitwear and accessories, jewelry, home blessings, ceramics, and a variety of other traditional Celtic-inspired items are among the most popular choices.
The shamrock is Ireland’s national symbol, and it is said that St. Patrick used it as a missionary to preach Christianity and explain the concept of the holy trinity. By the way, the color green has been incorrectly connected with him and the St. Patrick’s Day in general as a result of this. The initial color linked to the celebration was blue, and only later, during the Irish Rebellion of 1798, when the soldiers wore green uniforms, the day became associated with this hue.
Apart from the most well-known legend about St. Patrick and the shamrock, he is also credited with expelling all snakes out of Ireland. However, it appears to indeed only be a myth, as fossil evidence from the island indicates that the environment during the Ice Age was too cold for any reptiles to survive.
One of the most popular ways of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day is by preparing and eating traditional dishes, probably the most well-known one being the corned beef and cabbage, a dish made of beef, potatoes, carrots and cabbage. Interestingly, despite the name, there is no corn in this recipe, and the term refers to the large grains of salt which were used to cure the meat and were called “corns”.
