The luck of the Irish

By: Olivia Wile
Editor

It’s that time of the year again. Different holidays are popping up left and right. Between Valentine’s Day, Ground Hog’s Day, and now St. Patrick’s Day, there is a lot of history that makes up these world renowned celebrations. Here at the Pulse, we’ve decided to break down seven (yes seven, the speculated number of luck) St. Patrick’s Day basics we think you should know:

1. We’ll start from the beginning. Believe it or not, St. Patrick’s Day is the feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland (CNN).
2. Though the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick was not Irish, he was from the United Kingdom – Wales to be specific (IrishCentral.com).
3. There are currently more Irish people living in the United States than in Ireland; 34 million Americans have Irish ancestry compared to the 4.2 million people actually living in Ireland (Catholic.org).
4. If you’ve never tried it, this year may be the year to try Corned beef and cabbage – the staple meal of St. Patrick’s Day (CNN).
5. Before McDonald’s coined the Shamrock as staple of St. Patrick’s Day, the Saint himself was using a Shamrock to preach about the Holy Trinity; God the father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (Catholic.org).
6. St. Patrick’s Day was a dry holiday in Ireland until 1970 (Catholic.org).
7. As a nation, the United States spends around $4.4 billion for St. Patrick’s Day (Times).