![\"\"](\"http:\/\/jimmy.ekota.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/St-Pat.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nI know it\u2019s hard to imagine now, but there was a time when all the pubs in Ireland were closed on Saint Patrick\u2019s Day \u2014 by law. That unfortunate circumstance can be blamed on James O\u2019Mara, the same politician that introduced the Bank Holiday Act in Ireland in 1903 \u2014 that made St. Patrick\u2019s Day a national holiday in Ireland. The closings were originally meant as a mark of religious respect, but it wasn\u2019t until the 1970s that revelers could (legally) raise a glass to Saint Patrick.
It turns out that Saint Patrick\u2019s Day parades are about as Irish as Saint Patrick himself (not at all.)
The first Saint patrick\u2019s Day parade allegedly took place in New Your City \u2014 not Ireland.
Saint Patrick\u2019s Day is of course celebrated in countries across the world \u2014 but it\u2019s also celebrated in low-Earth orbit, in the International Space Station.
The first St. Patrick\u2019s Day celebration in the United States was held in Boston in 1737.
Shamrocks are the national flower\/emblem of Ireland.
Legend says that each leaf of a four-leaf clover has a meaning \u2014 Hope, Faith, Love and Luck.
Chicago has a tradition of dying their river green for St. Patrick\u2019s Day \u2014 that tradition started in 1962.
There are 34.7 million U.S. residents that at least claim Irish ancestry. That number is more than seven times the population of Ireland itself.
The odds of you finding a four-leaf clover is about 1 in 10,000.
The world\u2019s shortest St. Patrick\u2019s Day parade is held in an Irish village. The route is only 100 yards \u2014 between the village\u2019s two pubs.
St. Patrick never got canonized by a pope, making his saintly status a bit questionable.
And of course I guess it\u2019s my duty to clear up all the confusion about whether the day is referred to as \u201cPatty\u2019s Day\u201d or \u201c\u201dPaddy\u2019s Day.\u201d As far as I can tell, a lot (most?) people in the U.S. call it Pattie\u2019s Day. A word of advice \u2014 never do that in Ireland \u2014 it\u2019s Paddy\u2019s Day! The Irish have very strong opinions about this\u2026..<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They say everyone\u2019s Irish, or wish they were today, and being Irish is lucky enough. But if you\u2019re not taking any chances by carrying a four-leaf clover, don\u2019t iron it \u2014 you don\u2019t want to press your luck.
Happy Saint Patrick\u2019s Day.\u00a0
\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This is one of those days I usually write about every year \u2014 and, there\u2019s only so much you can say about a particular day\/holiday\u2026 so I\u2019ll probably repeat what I\u2019ve written in past years, but the good thing about … Continue reading