While our mission is Providing Peace of Mind to our policyholders, we also like to take time to stop and smell the roses...well, in this case - shamrocks! Here are a few fun facts about the Saint Patrick's Day holiday:
- In Ireland, the national holiday of Saint Patrick's Day allows businesses to close for families to celebrate. Historically, the holiday was celebrated to bring people together with food and shared cultural, religious, and political backgrounds in Ireland.
- Celebrated as a dry holiday in Ireland until 1970, pubs were then able to open for business to sell alcohol. Today, nearly 13 million pints of Guinness will be consumed worldwide!
- Saint Patrick did not drive snakes out of Ireland. It is believed the word “snakes” was used metaphorically to describe religious immorality.
- Saint Patrick wore a shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity by showing the 3 leaves with one stalk. The shamrock evolved into a symbol for the modern holiday.
- The first Saint Patrick’s Day parade in the U.S. was held in Boston on March 17th, 1737...
39 years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence! - New York City touts the largest S.P.D. parade in the world and have continued the tradition drawing crowds of 2 million spectators and 150,000 marchers.
- According to the U.S. Census, nearly 32.7 million residents claimed Irish ancestry in 2015, which is more than 7 times the population of Ireland (4.6 million).
- 45 pounds of green (vegetable-based) food dye turns the Chicago River green each year for their parade! The green color lasts for approximately 5 hours.
- Annually, the President of Ireland gives the President of the United States a crystal bowl of shamrocks as a gesture of shared ancestry and support between the two nations. (We also have 16 towns named Dublin, just to be clear!)
Please enjoy your green beer responsibly from all of us at Frederick Mutual!