Why Are We Obsessed With St. Patrick’s Day?

Oh, Ireland, and your stereotypical drinking. Oh, America, and your need to have any excuse to get dressed up, be slutty, and drink to excess.

Here’s the thing – Saint Patrick, who lived during the 4^th century, was born in England, was kidnapped as a kid and taken to Ireland. He escaped and went home, only to later return to Ireland as a Christian priest to convert the Irish pagans. He is the patron saint of Ireland, but he was British. He preached against Ireland’s Gaelic traditions… seems a tad off to me.

Why do we wear green? Because Saint Patrick used shamrocks, easily found in Ireland, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish. Again… not the Gaelic roots we were all thinking. Leprechauns and such = pagan. SAINT Patrick was a Christian priest. Just saying.

(From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Day)

A brief history and fun facts

Ok, so now for goofy St. Paddy’s Day fun. And shenanigans.

10 Supposedly Irish Things That Aren’t Remotely Irish
Lucky Charms
Um, no. Despite this cereal’s magically delicious leprechaun mascot and his over-the-top brogue, Lucky Charms is made by the giant Minneapolis-based food manufacturer General Mills and has nothing to do with Ireland or Irish culture. The traditional Irish breakfast has sausages, pudding, eggs, browned bread, and cooked tomatoes, not colored marshmallows.

Green Beer
The Irish don’t bother with this foolish malarkey. As one Irish ex-pat living in America explained it when being interrogated about real St. Patrick’s Day customs back home, “If you dyed beer green in Ireland, they’d punch you.” 

This is just creepy.

And now for some inappropriate limericks. 

The Leprechaun News story – if you haven’t ever seen this, it is totally worth the watch!

If you want to get rowdy, but in a themed way….  20 Tasty St. Patty’s Day Themed Drinks and Shooters

And just for good measure: