Here are 10 cool things about St. Patrick’s Day you might not have known

There’s an Irish expression “There are two kinds of Irish in the world. Those who are and those who wish they were!” This will be the day that saying is debunked because we will ALL be Irish!

Here’re some fun facts you probably didn’t know regarding St. Patrick’s Day :

10 Things You Didn’t Know About St. Patrick’s Day

1.) St. Patrick wasn’t Irish.

He was actually born in Britain in the Third century to Roman parents. During his teenage years, he was kidnapped and taken away to Ireland, where he became a slave and was forced to work as a shepherd for seven years.

Eventually, he escaped and returned to Britain and according to legend, a heavenly voice came to him in a dream and commanded him to return to Ireland and convert the country to Christianity.

2.) The Irish Don’t Consume More Alcohol than any other country:

This is not to say drinking is not an important part of their culture; it is. After all, the Irish have given the world whiskey and Guinness!

3.) There are more Irish Americans than Irish:

A lot more. The US Census Bureau shows more than 36.5 million Americans claim Irish heritage. Compare this to the population of Ireland–about 6 million.

4.) Guinness Consumption More than Doubles on March 17.

A spokesman for Guinness told National Geographic that consumption goes from 5.5 pints a day to about 13 million pints on March 17!

5.) The Emerald Isle is popular:

Each year Ireland attracts more than 7 million visitors to its island.

6.) Blue was the Original St. Patty’s Day Color;

Blue was the first color associated with St. Patrick’s Day; however, around the 17th century, Blue was out, and GREEN became the obvious choice. Green is in the Irish flag. It’s depicted in Ireland’s nickname, The Emerald Isle”. It’s the color of spring and the shamrock.

7.) Bring Home The Bacon:

For many, St. Patrick’s Day includes a meal of corned beef and cabbage. Only half of this “authentic” meal is Irish. Cabbage has long since been a traditional Irish staple. However, Irish immigrants in America could not afford Irish Bacon, so they instead went with the cheaper alternative and substituted it with corned beef.

8.) Pinching is American:

Sometimes in the early 1700s, Americans started the tradition of pinching if someone wasn’t wearing green. It was thought wearing green made one invisible to the leprechauns and fairy creatures who would pinch anyone they could see (anyone NOT wearing green). To remind those not wearing green that leprechauns would sneak up and pinch the non-green wearers, folks began pinching them.

9.) St. Patrick did not drive all the snakes into the water:

Legend states that St. Patrick drove all the snakes in Ireland into the Irish Sea, where they drowned (ask an Irishman and he will tell you this is why the sea is so rough). Serpents were a metaphor for druidic religions that declined from the country after St. Patrick began teaching Christianity. Snakes have never been native to Ireland.

10.) Pubs were closed on St. Patrick’s Day:

It wasn’t until the 1970s that the law was lifted, opening pubs in Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day, a national religious holiday.