Ireland is a land of myth and legend as well as historical intrigue. The folk tales and music are delightfully mystic. One cannot help but imagine the bygone ages of Celtic grandeur and Irish past. However, in all this magical aura, the accurate details of history seem to be lost. The word of mouth and generational stories often neglect to mention the facts behind the fables. With such misinformation spread all around, we have compiled a comprehensive list of all obscure St. Patrick’s Day Facts.
Have you ever wondered when the first
St. Patrick’s Day carnival took place? You might have speculated about the massive quantity of corned beef and cabbage consumed yearly in the States. There are also several Americans who originate from Ireland. Have you ever found out if you’re one of them? These factoids about St. Patrick’s Day will surely intrigue you more.
St. Patrick’s Day Facts:
1. St. Patrick’s Day has a set date of March 17th every year unlike mother’s and father’s day. It is celebrated to denote the customary sacred celebration day exclusive to St. Patrick.
2. Many people perceive corned beef to be the customary dish of the Irish holiday. The United States produced roughly 26.1 billion pounds of beef and 2.3 billion pounds of cabbage in 2009. This shows the affinity of Americans for Irish cuisine.
3. One of the most famous Irish baked treats is soda bread. The Irish soda bread is renowned and characterized as it uses baking soda not yeast to make it rise. The distinctive taste and texture are a favorite staple of many. Why not indulge yourself this St. Patrick’s Day?
4. It is a common conception that clover leaves are the official foliage associated with St. Patrick’s Day. The reality is quite different. The Green colored chrysanthemums are the flowers which are more commonly ordered for Saint Patrick’s Day displays.
5. The U.S hosted its first St. Patrick’s Day parade on March 17, 1762. The credit for this march goes to the Irish soldiers of that period. These soldiers took to the streets and flaunted their culture.
6. There are many more parades today in the U.S alone than there were in the entire world two centuries ago. In the States, over one hundred Saint Patrick’s Day processions are organized. According to the number of attendees, the NYC parade and Boston parade are the chief festivities.
7. Every year, 150,000 to 250,000 revelers color the NYC Streets. These participants march from 44th St. to the 86th St. and they celebrate all along 5th Avenue. This parade has no allowance for any vehicles, even floats.
8. Mount Gay-Shamrock in West Virginia, Shamrock in Texas, Shamrock Lakes in Indiana, and Shamrock in Oklahoma is named after the popular Irish symbol of the shamrock.
9. Interesting U.S towns with Irish sounding names are the Emerald Isle in North Carolina and Irishtown in Illinois. This is understandable as the Irish found and populated various towns across the U.S.
10. According to a survey performed in 2016, about 32.3 million U.S. citizens have Irish heritage. The number of the U.S born in Ireland was reported to be 125,840.
11. For U.S citizens, the second most frequently reported ancestry is Irish or Celtic. It ranks behind the German ancestry.
12. St. Patrick did not introduce Christianity in the Emerald isle. The historians state that Pope Celestine tasked the bishop Palladius in 431 A.D to guide the Christians residing in Ireland. Thus, one can conclude that Ireland had already seen the advent of Christianity by then.
13. Many believe Saint Patrick exiled all the snakes from Ireland. Admittedly, Ireland is a fee of snakes to this day. However, there are chances that this was the way it has always been like this because Ireland is an island, and snakes can’t slither over water.
14. Green is not the symbolic color of Saint Patrick’s Day. The St. Patrick’s Order’s knights wore blue. Or more specifically, they wore a shade of the blue color called St. Patrick’s blue. The green color is associated more with Irish independence.
15. The root of modern Saint Patrick’s Day revelries lies in Irish immigrants in the United States displaying their national pride. Original traditions of Saint Patrick’s Day did not have the loud partying of the present.
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