Erin Go Braugh

Since we don't have Trivia this week (BOO!!!) I'll just put up a handful of fun, St. Patrick's Day facts.

-US Troops held a St. Patrick's Day Parade in Baghdad, Iraq on Sunday, March 15, 2009.

-There really was a St. Patrick. Born Maywen Succat, he was/is the patron saint of Ireland and his feast day, celebrated on March 17, is Ireland's national holiday. Patrick was a Christian missionary, born in Wales, and taken as a slave to Ireland at the age of 16, where he lived for 6 years before escaping and returning to his family. Upon returning to the Church, Patrick became a missionary in the North and Western parts of Ireland. He is generally credited with banishing snakes from Ireland, although evidence suggests that post-glacial Ireland never had snakes to begin with. In historical accounts, Patrick is actually credited with banishing "serpents" from Ireland, not only synonym for "snakes" but also a derogatory term for an earth-based religion called Pelagainism, similar to Druidism. St. Patrick claimed to have converted "many thousands" to Catholicism during his time there, however, he was not known to have ever taught the catechism, or foundations of Catholicism, meaning that though he may have converted many people, it's unlikely that most of them actually practiced their new faith. St. Patrick died on March 17, 460, after which he was canonized by local Church officials. He was never officially canonized by a Pope of the Catholic Church. He is also the patron saint of Nigera, Monserrat, New York City, Boston, engineers, and the Roman Catholic Archdiosese of Melbourn, Australia.

-The famous green dye the City of Chicago uses each year to dye the Chicago river green is, in fact, orange. A chemical reaction takes place when the powered dye mixes with the river water, changing the water's color to a bright, almost radioactive green for a few hours.

-St. Patrick's Day typically falls during Lent, a time during the year when Catholics are not allowed to eat meat on Fridays. Should St. Patrick's Day fall on a Friday, Catholics are given permission to eat meat on that day. The practice is known as "special dispensation."

-Though March 17 is generally thought of as the anniversary of St. Patrick's death, the source of celebrating during this time of year may be, like so many Christian holidays, borrowed from paganism. Eostre, or the Spring equinox, falls on March 21 and celebrates the Teutonic goddess of spring, Eostre. If her name sounds familiar, that's because it is also the root of the word "Easter," another bogarted holiday.