Green beer. Green clothes. Green food. Green parades. St. Patrick’s Day is quite a spectacle both in America and Ireland. This year, while you’re sippin’ a pint at the pub with your mates, impress them with your vast knowledge of the holiday with these fun facts.
St. Patty’s Day? Heck no! Every year, millions of Americans annoy the ever-lovin’ poo out of Irish people by referring to their beloved holiday as “St. Patty’s Day” when it should be shortened instead to “St. Paddy’s Day.” This might seem like small Irish potatoes, but Paddy is derived from Padraig, an alternate version of Patrick, while Patty is short for Patricia, which just isn’t a cool thing to call their revered saint, apparently. For more on this, check out paddynotpatty.com.
Blue is the real color St. Patrick’s actual color is blue and has been since the 1780s. In the 1790s, the United Irishmen emerged and adopted the color green. Throughout the centuries, the color green became associated with rebellion against Britain, Irish nationalism and the beauty of “the green isles.” Eventually, St. Patrick’s Day became rolled up with that too and the color for the holiday became green. Which is just fine with me. Can you imagine drinking blue-colored beer on March 17? That’s just weird.
It was a dry holiday in Ireland for awhile That’s right, folks. No alcohol was involved. St. Paddy’s day first became a national religious holiday in Ireland in 1903 and part of that law required pubs to be shut down for the day. This law stayed on the books until the late 1960s.
Hot Springs, Ark., has the shortest parade in the world The route is only 98 feet long. For reference, it would take the average person 30 seconds to walk the route. While the floats and festivities last for about an hour, they spend about five minutes of that every year conducting an official measurement of the parade route. Because apparently streets are wont to grow larger over the course of the year.
There are no lady leprechauns In Irish folklore, there is zero reference to female leprechauns. Of course, considering leprechauns are 100 percent real, this leaves some serious questions needing to be answered. Namely, how do the little guys reproduce? Just don’t think too long on that one or the mental images will scar you for life.
Chicago dyes its river green This year is actually the 50th anniversary of the old tradition. Every year, the local plumbers union dumps about 40 pounds of vegetable dye into the Chicago River for the city’s annual parade. The color lasts for about five hours, which is more than enough time to decide rivers would be far more interesting if they were all bright green.
Every year, the president gets a gift
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