Every year millions of people around the world gather to celebrate St. Patrick’s day with green beer and “kiss me I’m Irish” shirts. Even still, how many would actually be able to say who St. Patrick was or if he was a real person? Here are some interesting holiday facts you can bring out during your St. Patty’s bar crawl.
It turns out that Patrick (the man before he was declared a saint) wasn’t even born in Ireland. He was originally born in Britain before being sent to Ireland as a slave when he was just a teenager. Even though he was able to escape, he found himself returning to Ireland around 20 years later because he felt that it was his calling to spread Christianity. He saw such success during his time that he reportedly was able to baptize 12,000 people in just a single day!
After March 17th became an official holiday in the Catholic church sometime around the 17th century, the holiday exploded in popularity. Today, people all over the world celebrate St. Patrick’s day with beer and parades regardless of religious affiliation. Cities like Boston and Chicago hold some of the biggest and most boisterous parades with the city of Chicago going so far as to use 40 lbs of dye to turn their river green!
Are you starting to feel the luck o’ the Irish yet? Well, grab that green beer, find something green to wear, and go celebrate!