ST. PATRICK'S DAY

I'm taking today off.  Well, not really because I'm actually here.

I have Monday's post ready to go and was going to make it Sunday's post, but I realize that today should be marked by something significant, like beer or potatoes or the jig or corned beef or anything equally stereotypically Irish (leprechauns, four-leaf clovers, The Clancy Brothers...).  Since I'm fresh out of beer, unwilling to share my last baked potato, cannot dance the jig, forgot to buy corned beef, do not know any leprechauns, cannot find any clover under all the snow, and the Clancy Brothers (the originals) are dying off, how about a nice bunch of facts about St. Paddy!

Erin go bragh, and for those more liberated, Erin go braghless.

Fun Facts about St. Patrick's Day
St. Patrick’s Day is observed on March 17 because that is the feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.

It is believed that he died on March 17 in the year 461 AD. It is also a worldwide celebration of Irish culture and history.

St. Patrick’s Day is a national holiday in Ireland, and a provincial holiday in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The actual color of St. Patrick is blue. Green became associated with St. Patrick's Day during the 19th century. Green, in Irish legends, was worn by fairies and immortals, and also by people to encourage their crops to grow.

St. Patrick did not actually drive snakes out of Ireland; the snakes represent the pagans that he converted to Christianity.

The very first St. Patrick's Day parade was not in Ireland. It was in Boston in 1737.

In Chicago, on St. Patrick's Day, the rivers are dyed green. Mayor Daley is also of Irish descent.

In Seattle, there is a ceremony where a green stripe is painted down the roads.

Most Catholics attend mass in the morning and then attend the St. Patrick's Day parade.

Shamrocks are worn on the lapel on this day.

In Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day, people traditionally wear a small bunch of shamrocks on their jackets or caps. Children wear orange, white and green badges, and women and girls wear green ribbons in their hair

Many young people dye their hair green for the special day.

Many people wear green on this holiday to avoid being pinched.

The phrase, "Drowning The Shamrock" is from the custom of floating the shamrock on the top of whiskey before drinking it. The Irish believe that if you keep the custom, then you will have a prosperous year.

Many bars in the United States, and abroad, serve green beer to celebrate St. Patty's Day.

Lucky Charms, a favorite cereal brand among many, young and old, was created in 1963, with its popular mascot, Lucky the Leprechaun.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, all.  May the luck of the Irish (and those who routinely win at casinos) be with you.