Posing as a shamrock is one classic way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day!! 

Why I love this day...

I think St. Patrick's Day is so special, because it is a time for all Americans to come together and celebrate. It is a very happy holiday and everyone gets in the holiday spirit as a nation. Although I am not Irish, I love to celebrate this holiday with my friends by wearing green and pinching those who fail to remember, going to St. Patrick's day parties and parades, consuming festive foods and drinks, and taking a moment to reflect on Ireland and its people. I think it is important to have holidays, like St. Patrick's Day, that bring together our nation without emphasizing a certain race, ethnicity or religion.



To find out about other American holidays that bring the nation together, check out these blogs:

Thanksgiving
Valentine's Day
Halloween
Fourth of July

But first, read on to learn more about St. Patrick's day in all of its glory!

St. Patrick's Day Fun Facts

This holiday has a lot of trivia associated with it. Did you know that:

**St.Patrick wasn't really Irish

**10% of all St Patrick's Day cards are sold in New York



**The following things on St. Patrick's Day will bring you good luck: finding a four-leaf clover, wearing green, and kissing the Blarney Stone

**Nine of the people who signed our Declaration Of Independence were of Irish origin

**21 Presidents of the United States proudly claim Irish heritage (including first President George Washington)



**The phrase, "Drowning The Shamrock" is from the custom of floating the shamrock on the top of whiskey before drinking it. The Irish believe that if you keep the custom, then you will have a prosperous year

**Many people dye their hair green for the special day



**People who suffer from chromatophobia (the fear of colors or of green) do not enjoy St. Patrick's Day

**The world's smallest park, totaling 452 inches, was created in Portland, Oregon on St. Patrick's Day for leprechauns and snail races

For more fun-filled facts and other information on this holiday, click here!

St. Patrick's Day Drink and Food

According to legend, St. Patrick brought the art of distillery to Ireland. This is why drinking is such an important part to celebrating the holiday in America. Also, Irish people are known to be "real drinkers," which is another reason Americans associate drinking with St. Patrick's Day. Americans tend to have "pub crawls" on St. Patrick's day and many bars serve green beer in order to make beer a holiday beverage. St. Patrick's Day beer should be a dark beer since that is the preferred choice for Irish drinkers.



As for food, corned beef and cabbage are the preferred foods to eat on St. Patrick's Day. These are traditional Irish foods and many Americans like to celebrate the holiday by preparing meals that include these two items. Irish stew and Irish soda bread are also popular foods to eat in the U.S..



For a yummy corned beef and cabbage recipe, click here

St. Patrick's Day Color and Symbols

The overpowering color of St. Patrick's Day is green. Everything is turned green for the day and it is a requirement to wear something green in order to avoid being pinched. You can wear anything from a green ribbon to a green shirt or hat. Many people also wear St. Patrick's Day pins. The green is a symbol of springtime, hope, feritility and eternal life.

There are two prominent symbols that are connected to St. Patrick's Day. The shamrock is one such symbol. As mentioned in 'Traditions' it is important to the holiday because the three leaves representing the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with the stem representing the Godhead. St. Patrick used the shamrock in order to prove that the Trinity existed.



Another symbol that is relevant to U.S.'s celebration of St. Patrick's Day is leprechauns. Although leprechauns are characters in Irish folklore, they have nothing to do with the religious holiday. However, in America, they are heavily associated with Ireland and St. Patrick's Day. In fact, it was not even established in the U.S. until 1959 when Disney's movie Darby O'Gill & the Little People where Americans got a different view of these small men found in Irish folklore. In the film, the leprechauns were cheerful and friendly, which conformed the American view on them and created the association between leprechauns and St. Patrick's Day.

If you are intrigued by leprechauns, check out this website. It has a webcam set up and you can leprechaun watch!