Some fun facts about this fun holiday:

• Did you know that the shamrock, is a symbol of Ireland and a registered trademark of the Republic of Ireland. Also the four-leaf clover is often confused with the shamrock. While the four-leaf clover is a symbol of good luck, the three-leafed shamrock is mainly an Irish christian symbol of the Holy Trinity and has a different significance.

• Homage to my hometown: Chicago dyes the Chicago River green every St. Patrick’s Day and has since 1961. Bill King, the administrator of Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day committee, stated that “the idea of dyeing the Chicago River green originally came about by accident when a group of plumbers were using fluorescein dye to trace illegal substances that were polluting the river”. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) outlawed the use of fluorescein for this purpose, since it was proven to be harmful to the river. The secret ingredients used to dye the river green today are claimed to be safe and not harmful to the thousands of living organisms that find a habitat in the Chicago river. (I think it’s all the green beer all those Chicagoan’s are drinking personally! )

• Corned beef and cabbage is the most common meal eaten in the United States for St. Patrick’s Day, even though historically, corned beef and cabbage is an American (rather than a traditionally Irish) meal.

• In the past, Saint Patrick’s Day was celebrated only as a religious holiday. It became a public holiday in 1903.

• Although Saint Patrick’s Day has the color green as its theme, one little known fact is that blue was once the color associated with this day.

• The Gaelic pronoucation for “Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!” (St. Patrick’s Day Blessing On You!) Ban-ick-tee na fay-lah pwad-rig or-iv - Go ahead, impress your friends with a wee bit of Gaelic!

The fun facts gathered by Wikipedia!

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