10 Facts About St. Patrick’s Day

Posted by
Jonathon Andrews

1 year ago

St. Patrick is actually from Wales, not Ireland.
At the age of sixteen, he was captured by Irish pirates and taken to Ireland as a slave. He tended to sheep for six years before he was able to escape.
After he escaped and returned home he learned about Christianity and became a priest. Then he returned to Ireland and established the Christian Church.
St. Patrick’s real name was Maewyn Succat. After becoming a priest he changed his name to Patricius, which means “Father Figure”.
From 1903-1970 most bars were closed on St Patrick’s Day because it was considered a religious holiday or a “Dry Holiday”.
Now there are more than 13 million pints of Guinness drank on St. Paddy’s Day alone.
Americans spent about $5.87 billion on beer on St. Patrick’s Day in 2022.
Although the holiday falls during Lent, the restriction of drinking is lifted for the day. This is why St. Patrick’s Day has become synonymous with drinking.
St. Patrick used shamrock to explain the Christian concept of the “the Father, the son, and the holy spirit”.
The original color of St. Patrick’s Day was blue, and reflected the color of the Saint himself. But it’s thought to have changed to green because Ireland is known as the Emerald Isle as well as the color being present in the flag and on shamrocks.