• 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 the patron saint of Ireland, although he was born in Britain, around 385AD.
• St. Patrick's given name was Maewyn Succat.
• His parents Calpurnius and Conchessa were Roman citizens living in either Scotland or Wales, according to different versions of his story.
• At age 16 he was kidnapped by pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland. During his 6 years as a slave he turned to religion for solace.
• He escaped slavery and made his way to Gaul where he changed his name to Patrick and studied in the monastery under St. Germain.
• St. Patrick converted pagans to Christianity, angering the Celtic Druids who threw him in prison many time as a result.
• St. Patrick did not actually drive snakes out of Ireland; the snakes represent the Pagans that he converted to Christianity.
• It is believed that he died on March 17 in the year 461 AD.
• March 17th is 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.
• According to St. Patrick's Day lore, Patrick used the three leaves of a shamrock to explain the Christian holy trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
• According to legend, on the day of Judgement, while Christ judges all other nations, St Patrick will be the judge of the Irish.
• The very first St. Patrick's Day parade was not in Ireland. It was in Boston in 1737.
• Since 1962, tons of green dye are tipped for St Patrick’s Day into the Chicago river, although the quantity has reduced, for environmental reasons, from 100 to 40.
• Many people wear green on this holiday to avoid being pinched.

• Irish soda bread gets its name and distinctive character from the use of baking soda rather than yeast as a leavening agent.

• There are 36.9 million U.S. residents with Irish roots. This number is more than eight times the population of Ireland itself (4.5 million)

• The original Irish name for Leprechaun is "lobaircin," meaning "small-bodied fellow."

• Leprechauns have nothing to do with St. Patrick or the celebration of St. Patrick's Day, a Catholic holy day

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Recipes

E-mail me your favorite St. Patrick's Day Family Recipes & I'll post them here!

Irish Soda Bread with Raisins

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 cups all purpose flour
5 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons butter, chilled, cut into cubes
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray 8-inch-diameter cake pan with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, 4 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in large bowl to blend. Add butter. Using fingertips, rub in until coarse meal forms. Make well in center of flour mixture. Add buttermilk. Gradually stir dry ingredients into milk to blend. Mix in raisins.

Using floured hands, shape dough into ball. Transfer to prepared pan and flatten slightly (dough will not come to edges of pan). Sprinkle dough with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

Bake bread until brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool bread in pan 10 minutes. Transfer to rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

5 pounds corned brisket of beef
6 peppercorns, or packaged pickling spices
3 carrots, peeled and quartered
3 onions, peeled and quartered
1 medium-sized green cabbage, quartered or cut in wedges
Melted butter (about 4 tablespoons)

Place the corned beef in water to cover with the peppercorns or mixed pickling spices (in supermarkets, these often come packaged with the corned beef). Cover the pot or kettle, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 hours or until tender, skimming occasionally. During the last hour, add the carrots and onions and cover again. During the last 15 minutes, add the cabbage. Transfer meat and vegetables to a platter and brush the vegetables with the melted butter. Serve with boiled parsley potatoes, cooked separately. (The stock can be saved to add to a pot roast or stew instead of other liquid.)

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