No Blarney! Facts, Quotes & St. Patrick's Day Fun

Next Wednesday is St. Patrick's Day and, being part Irish, I always celebrate my heritage! My father passed on the Irish gene to me and every year growing up I was reminded by him to wear my green so I wouldn't get pinched and I enjoyed a traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner that he prepared (Mom got the Czech holidays, lol.)

This year is no different - I'm posting St. Patrick's Day Martinis and St. Patrick's Day Appetizers and I designed the Kiss Me, I'm Irish image above and a fun Pop Art Shamrock for my stores. I've already purchased three lovely corned beef briskets - one for a traditional dinner, one for sandwiches and one already used to test out my appetizer recipes above - Dad would be proud (and he would have loved my Irish martinis & appetizers!)

I also dug up some fun facts on St. Patrick's Day, Shamrocks and leprechauns and decided to share them with you to help you get ready to enjoy your share of Irish luck!

Some Fun Irish Facts & Info:

• 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 each leaf of the clover means something: the first for hope, the second for faith, the third for love & the fourth for luck.
• The Irish saying, "Erin Go Braugh", means "Ireland Forever!"
• Ireland is divided into two separate countries; The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
• The harp is the symbol of Ireland. The color green is also commonly associated with Ireland, also known as “the Emerald Isle.”
• 34 million Americans have Irish ancestry, according to the 2003 US Census. That’s almost nine times the population of Ireland!
• St. Patrick was born in 385 AD somewhere along the west coast of Britain, possibly in the Welsh town of Banwen. At age 16, he was captured and sold into slavery to a sheep farmer. He escaped when he was 22 and spent the next 12 years in a monastery. In his 30s he returned to Ireland as a Christian missionary. He died at Saul in 461 AD and is buried at Downpatrick.
• St. Patrick’s Day is observed on March 17 because that is the feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.
• St Patrick is patron of fishermen in the Loire, where a legend associates him with a blackthorn bush.
• The first St Patrick’s Day parade took place in 1737 in Boston, followed in 1762 by New York.
• According to legend, on the day of Judgement, while Christ judges all other nations, St Patrick will be the judge of the Irish.
• Since 1962, tons of green dye are tipped into the Chicago river on St Patrick’s Day - amount reduced in recent years for environmental reasons.
• The potato crop was traditionally planted in Ireland after March 17
• Here's some more on the history of St. Patrick's Day from History.com.

Here's some fun facts on Shamrocks:

• According to legend, St. Patrick used the 3-leafed Shamrock to explain the Christian doctrine of the Trinity to the Irish people.
• The shamrock, also called the "seamroy" by the Celts, was a sacred plant in ancient Ireland because it symbolized the rebirth of spring.
• In Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day, people traditionally wear a small bunch of shamrocks on their jackets or caps.
• The Shamrock is registered with the World Intellectual Property Organization as a trademark of the Government of Ireland.
• The OFFICIAL SYMBOL OF IRELAND is the Irish harp - the shamrock is the national flower.
• Many believe that the word "shamrock" was derived from the Gaelic word for the clover, "seamróg."
• Since the 1990s, the Irish Taoiseach usually visits the White House around St. Patrick's Day & presents a shamrock to the President.
• There are 416 calories in the McDonald's SHAMROCK Shake.
• Ireland's SHAMROCK LEGEND

Here's some facts about those unique Irish faerie folk - Leprechauns:

• Leprechaun: Irish Gaelic word “leipreachan,” which means “a kind of aqueous sprite.
• Leprechauns are sometimes called Irish faeries and are very tiny elf-like creatures about 2 – 3 inches tall.
• Leprechauns are usually seen as old men that resemble shoemakers or cobblers and are always male. (then where do NEW Leprechauns come from?)
• There is one gold coin for each year of the leprechaun’s life is in his pot of gold!
• Leprechauns are considered mischief-makers who delight in causing things to move or disappear from around the household of ordinary folk.
• Leprechauns are a class of "faerie folk" - quasi-historical peoples said to have inhabited Ireland before the arrival of the Celts.
• Here's a cute LEPRECHAUN COLORING PAGE 4 Kids of All Ages - Make sure you have green crayons!

And Here are some Irish Quotes, Sayings & Blessings:

• May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow, and may trouble avoid you wherever you go ~ Irish Blessing
• Never iron a four-leaf clover, because you don't want to press your luck. ~Author Unknown
• If you're enough lucky to be Irish, you're lucky enough! ~Irish Saying
• Morning is the time to pity the sober. The way they're feeling then is the best they're going to feel all day - old Irish Saying
• God is good, but never dance in a small boat - Irish Saying
• A best friend is like a four leaf clover: hard to find and lucky to have - Irish Saying
• May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your fields, And until we meet again, May God hold you In the palm of his hand - Irish Blessing
• May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night and a smooth road all the way to your door - Irish Blessing
• An Irishman is never drunk as long as he can hold onto one blade of grass to keep from falling off the earth - Irish Saying
• Men are like bagpipes: no sound comes from them until they're full - old Irish Saying
• It is better to be a coward for a minute than dead the rest of your life - Irish Proverb
• May the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past - Irish Blessing
• Here's to eyes in your heads and none in your spuds - Irish Toast
• God made time, but man made haste - Irish Saying
• What butter and whiskey won't cure, there is no cure for - Irish Saying
• May you live as long as you want and never want as long as you live - Irish Blessing

So, my dear friends, until next St. Patrick's Day, I leave you with my favorite of all the Gaelic blessings: Dance as if no one's watching, sing as if no one's listening, and live everyday as if it were your last!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
I'll leave you with this wonderful Dennis Morgan rendition of "When Irish Eyes are Smiling"

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