- An odd Irish birthday tradition is to lift the birthday child upside down and give his head a few gentle bumps on the floor for good luck. The number of bumps should allegedly correspond to the child’s age plus one.
- One traditional Irish cure for a hangover was to be buried up to the neck in moist river sand.
- St. Patrick was actually of Scottish descent, not Irish, and contrary to popular folklore he never chased any snakes out of Ireland.
- The shamrock is the traditional symbol because St. Patrick used it to explain the connection between the father, the son, and the holy spirit in the Christian religion.
- On average, every American consumes 22 gallons of beer per year.
- Corned beef is strictly an American invention, the Irish don’t actually eat it to celebrate the day.
- Leprechauns are the official shoe makers of the fairy kingdom.
- Over 94 million people plan to wear green on St. Patrick’s Day.
LEPRECHAUNS!
- Leprechauns are always male.
- The pot of gold every leprechaun possesses totals 1 coin for each year of their life and they are known to have very long lives.
- Once you spot a leprechaun he can’t escape unless you take your eyes off of him.
- Most leprechauns are only about 2 feet tall, which is why it’s so easy for them to avoid being seen.
- Leprechauns will hide their pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, but since they are so crafty they’re constantly moving it to a new rainbow. That’s why you won’t always find a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow.
