1. Saint Patrick was born in England but was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at age 16. He later became a priest and is the patron saint of Ireland. 2. According to legend, Saint Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland, though evidence suggests there were never snakes there to begin with. 3. Saint Patrick used the shamrock, a three-leafed clover, to explain the Christian Holy Trinity and it became a symbol of Ireland and Saint Patrick's Day celebrations.

1. English
March 12 & 26, 2020

20. 10 Fantastic Facts about St. Patrick’s Day

21. 1. Saint Patrick was not Irish. He was born in England and was kidnapped
and brought to Ireland as a slave at age 16.

22. 2. According to the legend, St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland.
Evidence suggests there weren’t any to begin with.

23. 3. The humble shamrock owes its fame to St. Patrick. He used it to explain
the Christian Holy Trinity.

24. 4. St. Patrick died on March 17, 461 A.D. He was buried at Downpatrick,
County Down in Northern Ireland.

25. 5. Up until the 1970’s, St. Patrick’s day was a religious holiday in Ireland. And
since it takes place in Lent, pubs were closed by law.

26. 6. Today there are 36.5 million US residents with Irish roots –almost 9 times the
population of Ireland itself.

27. 7. The tradition of dying the Chicago river began in 1962.
Vegetable dye is used to color the river today.

28. 8. The New York parade is the world’s longest running. Around 150,000
people take part with 3 million watching.

29. 9. People often wear green in St. Paddy’s. The color used to be considered
unlucky in Ireland.

30. 10. Some 5.5million pints of Guiness are consumed each day worldwide. On
St. Patrick’s day it is 13 million!

31. On St. Patrick’s day, Irish people dance and sing in the pubs, watch the
parade, drink green beer, wear green clothes, and have a great time.