1. It’s a Feast Day! This holiday is considered an official Christian feast day and is used to commemorate the patron saint of Ireland and the beginning of Christianity in Ireland!
2. Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated in more countries than any other national festival! The celebrations usually involve parades, festivals, traditional music sessions, and of course, lots of green and shamrocks.
3. In Ireland this week is also known as “Irish Language Week”. Irish is a dying language, and its home country is really making an effort to create a grand comeback in the global community.
4. The Shamrock represents the Holy Trinity to the Pagan Irish. Three is a lucky number in Ireland and represents a lot of triple deities.
5. It is not a legal holiday in the United States! It is recognized and observed all over the country but, not a national holiday. It doesn’t stop our celebrations though, in Chicago they even dye the river green each year!
6. Montreal, Canada has one of the longest-running Saint Patrick’s Day parades on the North American continent. The city flag even includes a shamrock in the lower right corner.
7. There is an international rugby league tournament played every year between the US and Ireland! It’s called the Saint Patrick’s Day Test and is held on or around March 17th every year.