• 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!

1. Leprechauns are always male.
2. 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.
3. Once you spot a leprechaun he can’t escape unless you take your eyes off of him.
4. Most leprechauns are only about 2 feet tall, which is why it’s so easy for them to avoid being seen.
5. 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.