St. Paddy's Day

Tomorrow, around the world, we celebrate St. Patrick's day. A cultural and religious celebration held to mark the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461), the foremost patron saint of Ireland.  How will people celebrate, by wearing green, watching parades and drinking lots of green dyed beer.

I thought I would celebrate by sharing a few facts about both the man and the celebrations honouring him.

St. Patrick...

• was born in Britain around 400 AD.
• was kidnapped and sold into slavery by pirates at the age of 16.
• used the shamrock to illustrate the trinity of the Christian God, while there is no evidence of this, the shamrock has been used as an Irish national symbol since the 18th century.
• drove the snakes out of Ireland.  Another myth that symbolizes him ridding the country of its "evil" pagan ways.

On St. Patrick's Day...

• over 13 million pints of Guinness are enjoyed around the world.
• Canadian astronaut, Chris Hadfield, celebrated in space with a rendition of "Danny Boy".
• more than 45 lbs of green vegetable dye will be dumped into the Chicago River.
• the first St. Patrick's Day parade took place in the United States, not Ireland.

Happy St. Patrick Day