Top 5 Facts about St Patricks Day
Bonus fact: the pot o' gold at the end of the rainbow is traditionally said to hold 1000 gold coins. If they each weighed an ounce, that pot would be worth about one and a quarter million US dollars. Welcome to WatchMojo's Top 5 Facts. In this instalment, we're counting down the 5 more surprising facts we could find about St. Patrick's Day!
Special thanks to our users MikeMJPMUNCH, mac121mr0 and AXHP for submitting the idea using our interactive suggestion tool at http://www.WatchMojo.comsuggest
Top 5 Facts About St. Patrick’s Day
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Bonus fact: the pot o’ gold at the end of the rainbow is traditionally said to hold 1000 gold coins. If they each weighed an ounce, that pot would be worth about one and a quarter million US dollars. Two and a half mill if it’s a double rainbow. Welcome to WatchMojo's Top 5 Facts. In this installment, we're counting down the 5 more surprising facts we could find about St. Patrick’s Day!
#5: St. Patrick Wasn't Irish, and He Wasn't Called Patrick
He was actually British, and was originally named Maewyn Succat! St. Patrick was only known as Patrick once he’d become a priest, and the only reason he travelled to Ireland in the first place was because he’d been kidnapped. At around 16 years old, young Maewyn was taken by pirates from his native home – of either Scotland, or more probably Wales – and sold into Irish slavery. He spent six long years herding sheep in the Irish countryside before escaping back to Britain and reuniting with his parents. Next, he trained with the Church and achieved priesthood, before a Godly calling summoned him back to the Emerald Isle, where he travelled the countryside, teaching Christianity and converting thousands. And the rest really is history! Except for one part...
#4: There Were Never Any Snakes in Ireland
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A popular Paddy’s Day legend says that the patron saint of Ireland is the reason why the country doesn’t have any snakes. Supposedly Patrick chased every single Serpent into the sea and banished them forever, after snakes attacked him during a 40-day fast he was undertaking on a hilltop. However, science says that this myth is exactly that – a myth. All evidence suggests that post-glacial Ireland never played host to snakes or any reptiles. More likely, the story is a metaphor and Patrick’s ‘snakes’ were in fact some of Ireland’s more undesirable people, or his ideological rivals.
#3: It's Not 'Traditional' to Drink Beer
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Today, beer is probably the second-most synonymous thing with St. Patrick’s Day – behind Ireland itself! On average, between 11 and 13 million pints of Guinness are consumed worldwide on March 17th, and a 2012 study found the day to be worth over $245 million to the international brewing industry. But, no matter how many stouts we sink nowadays, getting drunk is not a Paddy’s Day tradition. Pubs weren’t even allowed to open in Ireland until 1970, when St Patrick’s was converted from a religious to a national holiday. The date has always been a feast day however, with significance because St. Patrick’s falls during Lent. A day of merriment during a staunch period of fasting, it’s the first glimpse of gluttony on the Christian calendar since Shrove Tuesday’s pancakes!
#2: St. Paddy’s Might Be More American Than Irish
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34 million Americans claim Irish heritage, which is about five times the population of Ireland itself! First observed in Boston in 1737, by the 1800s it had become a regular affair. New York City is famous for its 250,000 strong marching parade, which has been held since 1762, and Chicago is well known for dyeing its river green, a custom also carried out at the White House fountain since 2009. There’s another particularly peculiar presidential tradition as well: Every year since 1952, the Irish leader presents the US commander in chief a crystal bowl of shamrocks, and the pair then pose for photos. Though the president can keep the crystal, the shamrocks themselves are promptly destroyed, as per security procedures.
#1: We Should Be Wearing Blue
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If you’ve been watching this video with your mind’s eye firmly tinted to green, then you’ve been watching it all wrong! Historically speaking, St Patrick’s was a very blue day; there’s even a shade of the colour named after the Saint, which is used on Ireland’s Presidential Standard and as part of the Irish Guards uniform. The association of St Paddy’s with green only began during the late 1700s and the Irish Rebellion. At that time the clover became a nationalist symbol, and green emerged as the patriotic colour of choice. Today, a well-read reveller might tip their hat to tradition, but the vast majority of us go all out Emerald. Besides, blue beer just seems… Well, about as weird as green beer, actually. So, what do you think? Will you start wearing blue in the sea of green? Or would you rather not be that guy? For more widely celebrated Top 10s and immediately destroyed Top 5s, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
