St. Patricks Day Trivia

About the only truth in St. Patricks Day trivia is that it is a celebration of a real man who became known as the patron saint of the Irish. He wasn’t born Irish, but came there, when he was stolen from his homeland Britain and sold as a slave in Ireland.

He was a slave for six years before he escaped following a dream about God. Afterwards he went to France and entered a monastery, where he spent 12-14 years studying. Once he became a bishop he began dreaming that he was being called back to Ireland to bring God to the Irish.

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Patrick then returned to Ireland where he introduced the people, who were mostly pagans to the Christian God. During the 20 to 30 years he was in Ireland, he established the Catholic Church in Ireland; starting schools, building churches and training local clergy.

Another popular legend that is part of St. Patricks Day trivia deals with the connection between the shamrock and St. Patrick. It is actually based on one of the legends that grew up surrounding Patrick and that is that one day while trying to explain the Trinity that he bent down and picked a three-leafed plant.

There’s another legend in Saint Patricks Day trivia and that has to do with the fact that there are no naturally occurring wild poisonous snakes in Ireland. That legend says that St. Patrick drove all the snakes in Ireland into the sea using a curse from God. Once in the water they drowned and Ireland was forever safe from poisonous serpents. Again this is just a legend, which may only symbolize that the coming of St Patrick to Ireland spelled the end of paganism and the snake symbol often used in their worship.

One other common sight on St Patricks Day is the leprechaun, which is an Irish fairy, which may be the only reason it is associated with St. Patricks Day. The tiny little man, barely two-feet tall, is said to have a nasty temperament and make shoes. Supposedly following the sound of the hammer he uses while making shoes will help one catch him. Once caught, one can threaten him with a physical pain to force him to give up the secret to his treasure. Of course you can’t take your eyes off him for a second, otherwise he’ll immediately disappear and you will forever lose any chance of finding his treasure.

A bit of St Patricks Day trivia that might come as a surprise to Americans is that green it NOT a true Irishman’s choice of color. In fact, in Ireland green was traditionally considered be an unlucky color because it was the favorite color of the faeries (or Good People). Evidently they so liked the color that they were apt to snatch folks, preferably children, who were found wearing too much of the emerald hue.

Another bit of St Patricks Day trivia: "Patrick" is still one of the more popular names for a boy, although maybe not on the top 10 list.

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