By: Moneycontrol News
If it’s March, and it’s green, it must be St. Patrick’s Day. The day honoring the patron saint of Ireland is a global celebration of Irish heritage. And nowhere is that more so than in the United States, where parades take place in cities around the country and all kinds of foods and drinks are given an emerald hue. (Source: AP)
HISTORY Patrick was not actually Irish, according to experts. Born in the late fourth century, he was captured as an adolescent and ended up enslaved in Ireland. He escaped to another part of Europe where he was trained as a priest and returned to Ireland in the fifth century to promote the spread of Christianity. (Source: AP)
PARADE St. Patrick’s Day observances date back to before the founding of the U.S., in places like Boston and New York City. The first parade was held in Manhattan in 1762. (Source: AP)
CELEBRATIONS IN US The spread of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the U.S. was a way for Irish immigrant communities, who in the 19th century faced discrimination and opposition, to stake that ground, he says: “It’s a kind of immigrant Irish way of combating nativist antagonism against them.” (Source: AP)
FOUR LEAF CLOVERS A popular sight around the holiday is the shamrock, or three-leaf clover, linked to Ireland and St. Patrick. The lucky ones, though, come across something that’s harder to find: a four-leaf clover. That’s because it takes a recessive trait or traits in the clover’s genetics for there to be more than the normal 3 leaves, says Vincent Pennetti, a doctoral student at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. (Source: AP)