St Patricks Day Trivia:  FunThings to Know About this Important Irish Holiday!

Sharing St Patricks Day trivia is a fun way to celebrate a 1,000 year old Irish tradition and an official Irish public holiday, while honoring the life of an important person in Irish history.  It is much, much more than an excuse to drink green beer!

For some, it is a strictly holy day.  Many Irish families go to church in the morning to observe Lent, and then celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day (also known as the Feast of Saint Patrick) in the afternoon with food, drink, and dance.  

For many others - whether or not they have Irish ancestry - it is a time to celebrate with pints of Guinness and various happy shenanigans.

Below you will find a list of fun facts, shared in the form of questions and answers.  Use them to boost your knowledge of Irish culture and celebrate Irish heritage every year on March 17th.

Where St. Patrick's Day Come From?

Saint Patrick's Day celebrates the life and teachings of a man named Patrick, who became the foremost patron saint of Ireland.  

Born Maewyn Succat in Roman Britain, he was kidnapped and sold as a slave in Ireland at the age of 16.  He escaped, but later returned as St Patrick, bringing Christianity with him to the Emerald Isle.

Many legends in Irish folklore have been associated with St Patrick and the day that celebrates his life. His death occurred sometime around March 17, 461.

St Patricks Day Trivia:  Questions and Answers

Hey, anybody can Google St. Patrick's Day trivia.  We will use a question and answer format to make it a bit more interesting!

Question 1: Was St Patrick actually Irish?
Answer:  No! Patrick was born in Roman Britain to a religious family, kidnapped and sold into slavery in Ireland.  He later escaped, only to return to Ireland as a missionary later in life.

Question 2: Why is green so prominent on St Patrick’s Day?
Answer: There are a number of answers that are acceptable.  Ireland herself is referred to as the Emerald Isle due to her lush green landscape. The world-famous Shamrock symbol is green.  Also, wearing green makes you invisible to those pesky leprechans, who will pinch you if they can see you. Wearing green is critical to prevent those pinches.  Obviously.

Question 3:  Where was the first St Patricks Day Parade?
Answer:  The city of Boston in the United States celebrated the first St. Patrick's Day parade we know of, as early as 1737.  According to Timothy Meagher, it was the Irish Americans who evolved the religious holiday in Ireland into a more celebratory occasion.

Question 4:  Does Dublin have one of the largest St. Patrick's Day celebrations?
Answer:  Yes.  Dublin's annual St. Patrick Day parade is one of the largest parades in the world.

Question 5:  How many people attend the annual St Patrick's Day parade in New York City?
Answer:  New York's St. Patrick's Day parade is attended by roughly 2 million people each year.

Question 6:  How much Guinness is consumed on St. Patrick's Day?
Answer:  Here's some important St Patricks Day trivia for you:  by one estimate, 13 million pints of Guinness are consumed during St. Patrick's Day celebrations around the world.

Question 7: What is the. most common food eaten on Saint Patrick's Day?
Answer: Corned beef and cabbage with Irish soda bread is a traditional meal on St. Paddy in the US.  It is not common in Ireland.

Question 8:  What is the 'drowning of the shamrock?'
Answer:  The St Patrick's Day practice of placing a shamrock in one's last glass of whiskey, before drinking it down.

Question 9:  What is the meaning of Erin go Bragh?
Answer:  These famous words are translated Ireland forever.

Question 10:  A well-known legend holds that St Patrick eliminated what reptile from the Emerald Isle?
Answer: Snakes!

Question 11:  What is a 3-letter word that describes a very popular Irish dance seen all over the word on St Patricks Day (and most other days :-)?
Answer:  J..I..G

Question 12:  Is it true that they dye the Chicago River green for Saint Patrick Day?
Answer:  Yes!  Two family clans in the Chicago area have been doing this for more than 50 years.  They use a top-secret powder to turn the river green for many hours.

Question 13:  According to legend, St Patrick used the shamrock to describe what central Christian idea?
Answer:  The Holy Trinity.

Question 14:  Is a Shamrock the same thing as a four-leaf clover?
Answer:  No!  The number of leaves of a shamrock (a key emblem of Ireland) is three, while the four-leaf clover has - obviously - four.

Question 15:  Why was drinking on St Patricks Day in Ireland forbidden between 1903 and 1970?
Answer:  The Church declared it sacrilegious.

Question 16:  Why was the St Patrick's Day parade in New York City in 1762 such an important event for Irish immigrants?
Answer:  Wearing of the color green, and the Shamrock in particular, were banned in Ireland at the time.  Irish immigrants and Irish soldiers station in NYC were able to display symbols and play music that were important to their culture at a time when they were inaccessible in the homeland.

Question 17:  How popular is St Patrick's Day around the world?
Answer:  More than 50 countries have St. Patrick's Day celebrations each year.

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