Did You Know?

Fun Facts for St. Patrick’s Day

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
As you pull on your green “Kiss me I’m Irish” t-shirt, prepare for a parade or cook up some corned beef and cabbage, check out these fun facts I’ve gathered about the holiday:

• Do you know that the color traditionally associated with St. Patrick was blue, notgreen?
• There are 34.7 million US residents with Irish ancestry; more than seven times the population of Ireland itself!
• Dublin’s March 17th parade gathers a crowd of over half a million people.
• 40 lbs of green dye are used to turn the Chicago River green.
• The Irish name for leprechaun is lobaircin, which means “small-bodied fellow.”
• Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional St. Patrick’s Day dish in the United States (but not in Ireland!)
• In 2009, roughly 26.1 billion pounds of beef and 2.3 billion pounds of cabbage were produced in the United States.

In Local News:

• Boston is home to one of the largest Patty’s Day celebrations.
• Across the US there are more than 100 St. Patrick’s Day parades.
• The official St. Patrick’s Day Parade in South Boston kicks off at 1pm on Sunday, March 18th. Get the details about Southie’s celebration.
• 23% of Massachusetts residents lay claim to Irish ancestry, more than double the national average of 11%.