Okay, I know --- a little late --- well not at all ---
Saint Patrick's Day is Sunday!
Here goes:
St. Patrick’s Day is observed on March 17 because that is the
feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It is believed that he
died on March 17 in the year 461 AD. It is also a worldwide celebration of Irish
culture and history. St. Patrick’s Day is a national holiday in Ireland, and a
provincial holiday in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
In Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day, people traditionally wear a
small bunch of shamrocks on their jackets or caps. Children wear orange, white
and green badges, and women and girls wear green ribbons in their hair.
34 million Americans have Irish ancestry, according to the
2003 US Census. That’s almost nine times the population of Ireland, which has
4.1 million people.
The Irish flag is green, white and orange. The green symbolizes
the people of the south, and orange, the people of the north. White represents
the peace that brings them together as a nation.
The name “lephrechaun” has several origins. It could be from
the Irish Gaelic word “
leipreachan,” which means “a kind of aqueous
sprite.” Or, it could be from “
leath bhrogan,” which means
“shoemaker.”
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the highest
number of leaves found on a clover is 14!
One estimate suggests that there are about 10 000 regular
three-leaf clovers for every lucky four-leaf clover.
Legend says that each leaf of the clover means something: the
first is for hope, the second for faith, the third for love and the fourth for
luck.
