Paul Hastings

You’ve probably grown up your life knowing about St. Patrick’s day and observing it to one extent or another. After all, what sane person wouldn’t wear green today if just in order to avoid all of the “affectionate” pinches?

History

Kudos to my friend Jeremiah Warren for creating the above clip.

Observations

• Christianity: St. Patrick’s greatest claim to fame in Ireland is bringing Christianity to the Irish
• Snakes: His 2nd greatest claim in Ireland is eradicating all the snakes from Ireland (although that’s probably a legend, since there’s no geological evidence that snakes have ever lived in Ireland
• Booze: St. Patrick’s day is a feast day, meaning that for many Lent participants, today qualifies as a “day off”. Accordingly, today is one of the busiest days for bars across the US.
• Green Water: The Chicago River is dyed green this day every year. Oddly enough, they use orange dye to make the water green.

Want More?

Not enough info? Get your fill of facts on the Wikipedia pages for St. Patrick and St. Patrick’s Day.