By the time St. Patrick’s Day rolls around, the only research most of us do is find a green shirt to wear. Want to make things interesting when you gather ‘round for this holiday? Try these.
Fun fact No. 1: The first parade was in the U.S.
Ireland has celebrated since the 1600s without parade floats or leprechauns on unicycles. The first: In 1601, at a Spanish colony in current-day St. Augustine, Fla.
Fun fact No. 2: St. Patrick was a Brit
St. Patrick, born around 390 A.D., came from Britain, from an aristocratic Christian family. It’s like when your pro team’s star player comes from your college team’s rival school. (Also, his name was Maewyn Succat. He changed his name to Patricius when he became a priest.)
Fun fact No. 3: There’s no corn in corned beef
The traditional St. Patrick’s Day dish once employed large salt grains to cure meats. They referred to these as corns.
