St. Patrick Wasn't Irish
Although St. Patrick is known worldwide for bringing Christianity to Ireland, the country's patron saint is not Irish himself. His parents were Romans and he was born in Scotland or Wales at the end of the fourth century.
Patrick Wasn't Original Name of the Saint
An Irish legend says that St. Patrick's original name was Maewyn Succat, but he changed his name to Patricius after he became a priest. Theoretically, the holiday could have been called St. Maewyn's Day.
Sue’s Stepper-ettes making their way through Dublin this afternoon #StPatricksFest #StPatricksDay pic.twitter.com/qX59Lp9lGB
— St. Patrick's Festival (@stpatricksfest) 17 марта 2018 г.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day from the big parade in Dublin Ireland. @HamillHimself & @MarilouHamill braving the cold. (One guy in the crowd shouted: “Use the Force to bring out the Sun!”) Maybe twin suns on this chilly morning… pic.twitter.com/J6eD5snwa5
— Clayton Sandell (@Clayton_Sandell) 17 марта 2018 г.
An amazing @stpatricksfest parade with our wonderful grand marshal, @liamcunningham1 we salute you 👏 pic.twitter.com/iTqwAVoXfL
— Julia Dalton (@JuliaDalton3) 17 марта 2018 г.
READ MORE: Green-Light the Leprechauns, St Patrick Is in Town
St. Patrick's Parade in New York
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by the Irish community all around the world. The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place in New York in the 1760s. This Saturday, the parade started at Manhattan's Fifth Avenue in New York at 11 a.m. The festival usually lasts six hours.
Blue or Green?
Although nowadays St. Patrick's Day is often associated with everything green, St. Patrick's color was actually blue. The earliest St. Patrick portraits depict him dressed in blue. The color has been a symbol for Ireland for many centuries. Green instead was considered unlucky.
Our International Publicity team @FailteIntMedia are with overseas media @stpatricksfest and @TourismIreland giving them an authentic experience of #StPatricksDay here in #Dublin pic.twitter.com/GU7b1LPgMF
— Fáilte Ireland (@Failte_Ireland) 17 марта 2018 г.
First time visitors to Ireland. The wonderful Sue’s Stepper-ettes all the way from Nebraska taking part in our parade today #stpatricksfest #StPatricksDay pic.twitter.com/NKHjXXgWoI
— St. Patrick's Festival (@stpatricksfest) 17 марта 2018 г.
Guinness sales rise twofold on St. Patrick's Day
People all over the world consume much more Guinness drinks on St. Patrick's Day than on any other day. According to reports, some 5.5 million Guinness pints are sold worldwide every day on St. Patrick's Day the sales rise twofold.
