Did you know that Saint Patrick's Day began in America and not Ireland? In the U.S. it's customary to wear green, but in Ireland, the color was long considered unlucky because folklore says that green is the color of the faeries. Faeries were likely to steal children who wore too much of the color.
Shamrocks are believed to represent rebirth and life because of its green color. The four leaves of the clover represent faith, love, hope and luck.
On average, a new Irish pub opens in the U.S. every day.
According to Guinness, 13 million pints of the beer are consumed around the world on St. Patrick's Day. 30 percent of those 13 million pints are consumed in the U.S. alone.
One in 161 Americans is named Patrick. That's about two million people - more than the entire population of Ireland.
Legend credits St. Patrick with banishing snakes from Ireland by chasing them into the sea after they assailed him during a 40 day fast. However, all evidence suggests that Ireland never had any snakes because, as an island, snakes were unable to migrate across open ocean.
Colonial New York City hosted the first official St. Patrick's Day parade in 1762, when Irish immigrants in the British colonial army marched down city streets to reconnect with their Irish heritage.
Slainté!
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