Top 10 Unusual St. Patrick’s Day Facts (t)
An Irish blessing: “May you always
have...
Walls for the winds, A roof for the rain
Tea beside the fire, Laughter
to cheer you
, Those you love near you,
And all your heart might desire.”
An Irish toast : “May your blessings
outnumber, the shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you wherever you go.”
1. According to his writing, a voice - which he believed to be God's -
spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland. After
travelling for more than 200 miles by foot, he was eventually given passage on
a boat travelling across the Irish Sea. His first destination was Britain.
Patrick also reported that he experienced a second revelation - an angel in a
dream tells him to return to Ireland as a missionary.
2. Patrick and his 24 followers were invited to Tara by the King of
Laoghaire. While he was there he plucked a shamrock from the ground and tried
to explain the to the druids and the King that the shamrock had three leaves
just like God had three personas - The Father, The Son and the Holy Ghost. This
was called the Trinity. Before the Christian era it was a sacred plant of the
Druids of Ireland because its leaves formed a triad.
3. While not the first to bring Christianity to Ireland, it is Patrick who
is said to have encountered the Druids at Tara and abolished their pagan rites.
The story holds that he converted the warrior chiefs and princes, baptizing
them and thousands of their subjects in the "Holy Wells" that still
bear this name.
4. The St. Patrick's Day custom came to America in 1737. What's good luck on Saint Patrick's
Day?: Finding a four-leaf clover (that's double the good luck it usually is).
Wearing green. (School children started this tradition of their own -- they
used to pinch classmates who don't wear green on this holiday). Kissing the
blarney stone.
5. Turning the Chicago river green has been a unique
to Chicago for the past 50+ years. A modern day miracle occurs each year as
part of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade celebration when the Chicago River turns
an incredible shade of Irish green. This spectacular transformation is a sight
to see.
6. People dress in green clothing and eat food, which is
either naturally or dyed green, on St Patrick’s Day. Some people go as far as
holding green dinner parties where the guests are expected to wear green and
eat exclusively green food.
7. 36 Million number of U.S. residents
who claim Irish ancestry. This number is almost nine times the population of
Ireland itself (slightly more than 4 million). Irish is the nation's second
most frequently reported ancestry, trailing only German.
8. Seattle and other cities paint the traffic stripe of
their parade routes green. Chicago
dyes its river green and has done so since 1962 when sewer workers used green
dye to check for sewer discharges and had the idea to turn the river green for
Saint Patrick's Day. Originally 100 pounds of vegetable dye was used to turn
the river green for a whole week but now only forty pounds of dye is used and
the colour only lasts for several hours. The dye starts out looking orange. It hits the water looking yellow. And then the magic begins.{See Picture} [24] Indianapolis also dyes its
main canal green.
9. The number three in Ireland is consider lucky,
hence; the shamrock and its three leaves. The Shamrock was also known as the
Seamrog, which means; summer plant which comes from the Irish word trefoil,
meaning three-leafed. It symbolizes the Trinity of the Father, Son & Holy
Spirit; faith, hope and charity; or past, present and future. The number three
was utilized in many ways in the Irish culture and ancient Celtic Druid
cultures believed that the plant had magical powers such as, the leaves stood
straight up to predict approaching storms. Even Irish storytelling is done in
the rhythm of triple repetitions.
10. In the United
States and Canada, consumption of corned beef is often associated with Saint Patrick's
Day.[10] Corned beef is not considered an Irish
national dish, and the connection with Saint Patrick's Day specifically
originates as part of Irish-American culture, and is often part of their
celebrations in North America.[11]Corned beef and cabbage
became popular in the United States after Irish immigrants in the
northeast used corned beef instead of pork in the dish. This substitution was
likely due to the low cost of corned beef in the U.S. More traditional in Ireland is Irish Stew and Soda Bread.
