Friday, February 22, 2013

St. Patrick's Day is almost here!

St. Patrick's Day just happens to be my favorite holiday.

This is pretty predictable since St. Patrick's Day celebrated everything I love: my Irish roots, the color green, and good old fashioned rowdy fun.

(To celebrate: All green items are on sale 25% ~ 50% off at Kittn's Purrfections)

But did you know the answers to these questions about my favorite holiday?

1. Who was St. Patrick?

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, although he was born in Britain, around 385AD. His parents Calpurnius and Conchessa were Roman citizens living in either Scotland or Wales, according to different versions of his story.

2. When did St. Patrick come to Ireland?

As a boy of 14 he was captured and taken to Ireland where he spent six years in slavery herding sheep. He returned to Ireland in his 30s as a missionary among the Celtic pagans.

3. What about the symbol of the clover?

Legend has it that St. Patrick used the native shamrock as a symbol of the holy trinity when preaching and brought the Latin alphabet to Ireland.

4. What did St. Patrick do to be celebrated?

Miracles attributed to him include the driving of serpents out of Ireland. However, evidence suggests post-glacial Ireland never had any snakes in the first place.

5. We celebrate with green, but what color should St. Patrick's Day have been?

Wearing green, eating green food and even drinking green beer, is said to commemorate St Patrick's use of the shamrock - although blue was the original colour of his vestments.

6. Why has this holiday become a day to get drunk?

St Patrick was said to have proclaimed that everyone should have a drop of the "hard stuff" on his feast day after chastising an innkeeper who served a short measure of whiskey. In the custom known as "drowning the shamrock", the shamrock that has been worn on a lapel or hat is put in the last drink of the evening.

7. Popular Irish toasts on St Patrick's Day, include may the roof above us never fall in, and may we friends beneath it never fall out.

8. When was the first St. Patrick's Day?

St. Patrick's Day was first celebrated in America in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1737. Around 34 million modern Americans claim Irish ancestry.

9.When did St. Patrick die?

It is believed that St Patrick died on March 17 in 461AD. It is a national holiday in Ireland, and on the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean, which was founded by Irish refugees. It is a bank holiday in Northern Ireland and a provincial holiday in the Canadian province of Newfoundland.

10. Dublin has a parade that attracts hundreds of thousands of people, while in Chicago the river is dyed green for a few hours. The biggest parade is normally held in New York, while the largest celebration in the southern hemisphere is in Sydney, Australia.

Pictured: Sydney Opera House on St. Patrick's Day

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Exclusive 20% off discount when you shop at Crusade Boutique on Storenvy and enter "KITT20" at checkout! You can also shop the Crusade Boutique Facebook Page and follow the instructions for ordering underneath the items or by sending a PM on the page. Just remember to send your coupon code "KITT20" via message as well!

5 comments:

  1. Getting the kids dressed in green!!!!! Making green pancakes, green milk, and green eggs! The kids love it! Plus we leave coins around the house and the kids try to find the leprechauns gold coins!

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  2. I'm so happy to see you here, Mare! I'll be posting some sort of blog tonight. :)

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  3. We don't really do much, honestly.
    I do, however, really love the shamrock shakes available around town :3

    I know, that's probably the least interesting answer I could give. I should do something this year! :'D

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    Replies
    1. Not everyone celebrates St. Patrick's Day and that's okay! Do you wear green?

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