How “Irish” Are You This St. Patrick’s Day?

Jeff’s Journal
By Jeff Whitaker

In another week a lot of us will be “wearin’ the green” if only for a day.  March 17th is the one day a year when nearly everyone claims some sort of Irish heritage.  As we approach St. Patrick’s Day, I thought I would share some interesting facts surrounding the day we celebrate and the man behind the celebration.

Let’s take a short quiz and see how you do.  No cheating.  The answers are at the conclusion of my column.

1. St. Patrick’s Day began as a …
   1. Small birthday celebration to honor St. Patrick in the 17th Century.
   2. Day to mark the death of St. Patrick in the 18th Century.
   3. Religious feast in the 17th Century.
   4. None of the above.
2. Celebrants traditionally wear green on St. Patrick’s Day because …
   1. It’s the color originally worn by St. Patrick.
   2. Green is the color of shamrocks.
   3. The Irish Independence movement wore this color.
   4. None of the above.
3. St. Patrick was born in …
   1. Scotland.
   2. Ireland.
   3. Sweden
   4. Italy.
4. Irish immigrants first observed St. Patrick’s Day in …
   1. Chicago in 1849.
   2. New York in 1766.
   3. Baltimore in 1806.
   4. Boston in 1737.
5. Every year on St. Patrick’s Day, the city of Chicago dyes their river green. What year did this tradition begin?
   1. 1957?
   2. 1908?
   3. 1962?
   4. 1948?
6. The four leaf clover is traditionally associated with the day. According to the Daily Telegraph, the odds of you finding a four leaf clover are …
   1. 1 in 10,000
   2. 1 in 100
   3. 1 in 1,000,000
   4. 1 in 100,000

How did you do? Check out the answers below to see if you are a true St. Patrick’s Day expert.

Answers:

1 – C. The original St. Patrick’s Day was a religious feast first held in the 17th century.

2 – C. Believe it or not the original color associated with the day was blue with St. Patrick himself depicted wearing blue robes.  The shade is known today as azure blue. It wasn’t until the 18th century that green became associated with St. Patrick’s Day after it was linked to the Irish independence movement.

3 – A. St. Patrick was actually born in Scotland and his parents were Roman.

4 – D. Irish immigrants began observing St. Patrick’s day in Boston in 1737.  The first St Patrick’s Day parade was held in New York City in 1766. So, if you guessed New York

5 – C. The tradition of dying the river green in Chicago began in 1962. The dye lasts for about four hours before it dissipates.

6 – A. According to the Daily Telegraph, the odds of finding a four leaf clover are 1 in 10,000.

So now you have a little trivia you can throw around to your friends and family.  No matter what your heritage, my wish for you this March 17th is that the road will rise up 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.