{"id":1734,"date":"2016-03-16T21:16:45","date_gmt":"2016-03-17T01:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/?p=1734"},"modified":"2023-03-16T23:02:05","modified_gmt":"2023-03-17T03:02:05","slug":"10-facts-about-the-irish-and-st-patricks-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/?p=1734","title":{"rendered":"10 Facts about the Irish and St. Patrick\u2019s Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-15410\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Irish_stpatrick2-300x191.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"287\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Irish_stpatrick2-300x191.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Irish_stpatrick2-768x490.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Irish_stpatrick2-624x398.jpg 624w, https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Irish_stpatrick2.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\">St. Patrick\u2019s Day is celebrated on March 17 because it is believed that is the day St. Patrick died. History has it that he died in 461 AD, at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, where he is also reputedly buried.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\">Ironically, the patron saint of Ireland &#8211; St. Patrick \u2013 was not Irish. He was British, born in Wales, possibly in the southern town of Banwen, in 385 AD. Another account indicates he was born in Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton, Scotland, in 387 AD.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\">There are approximately 36.5 million U.S. residents who claim Irish ancestry. This number is more than eight times the population of Ireland itself (4.5 million).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\">The St. Patrick\u2019s Day parade first took place in New York City on March 17, 1762. Today, over 100 St. Patrick\u2019s Day parades are held across the United States every year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\">The first St. Patrick\u2019s Day in Canada is believed to have taken place in Quebec City in 1765. The largest Canadian parade each year takes place in Montreal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\">The Shamrock, also called a \u201cseamroy,\u201d is a sacred plant in Ireland, marking the rebirth of Spring. Legend has it that St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the holy trinity to the pagans.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\">It is also legend that Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland. This is not the case as there have never been snakes in Ireland. (However, snake symbols were common and worshipped in pagan religions, so likely the driving of snakes from Ireland is symbolic of ending that pagan practice.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\">Traditional music was used by the Irish to celebrate their heritage and language during the English rule \u2013 the main reason Queen Elizabeth outlawed Irish music, musicians and pipers. Today, traditional Irish bands have achieved worldwide acclaim and popularity, still using centuries-old instruments like the fiddle, the uilleann pipes, and the tin whistle.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\">The original Irish name for the leprechaun is \u201clobaircin,\u201d which means \u201csmall-bodied fellow.\u201d Leprechauns have no real connection to St. Patrick\u2019s Day. Today\u2019s common representation of a cheerful, jolly leprechaun and symbol of St. Patrick\u2019s Day is purely an American concoction, started by a Walt Disney movie in 1959.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\">The intended meaning of St. Patrick\u2019s Day is that it\u2019s a day for spiritual renewal and for praying for missionaries around the world. (As a surprise to many North Americans, it is not an excuse to drink green beer and eat corned beef and cabbage.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-15412\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/irish_Erin_Go_Bragh_1-195x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/irish_Erin_Go_Bragh_1-195x300.jpg 195w, https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/irish_Erin_Go_Bragh_1.jpg 490w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Chris George, providing reliable PR counsel and effective advocacy. Need a go-to writer or experienced communicator? 613-983-0801 @<\/em> <a href=\"http:\/\/cgacommunications.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CG&amp;A COMMUNICATIONS<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>St. Patrick\u2019s Day is celebrated on March 17 because it is believed that is the day St. Patrick died. History has it that he died in 461 AD, at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, where he is also reputedly buried. Ironically, the patron saint of Ireland &#8211; St. Patrick \u2013 was not Irish. He was British, born&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1734"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1734"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15413,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1734\/revisions\/15413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}