Did you know . . . about St. Patrick's Day

Thought I’d do a little research and share with you a much abbreviated history of St. Patrick’s Day.

Soooo, did you know . . .

The Man:
*St. Patrick is Ireland’s patron saint (though not canonized).
*He was not Irish, but born Maewyn Succat in 5th century Roman Britain to a well-to-do family.
*He was captured at 16 and forced to serve as a shepherd slave in Northern Ireland.
*He escaped and was immediately re-captured and became a slave in France.
*Finally released, he returned home to study Christianity.
*He then became a priest and changed his name to Patricius (Latin derivative for ‘father figure’).
*Returning to Ireland, this time by choice, he planned to convert the pagan and druid population to Christianity and did a very good job of accomplishing just that.
*He did NOT drive snakes from Ireland, the island had none!

The Holiday:
*It is celebrated on the day of his death and was originally a solemn religious event in Ireland.
*The way it is celebrated today is actually a product of 18th century Irish immigrants in America.
*Dining on corned beef & cabbage was a poor immigrant's substitute for beef or pork & potatoes.
*Imbibing came about because of the proximity to Lent.
*Though Ireland is often called the Emerald Isle, blue was originally its symbolic color. Green was not associated with the country until a mid-17th century rebellion. ‘The Wearing of the Green’ was a war song during that rebellion.
*Parades and wearing green are, again, a product of Irish immigrant celebrations.
*The shamrock was used by St. Patrick to teach the concept of the Holy Trinity. A fourth leaf represents luck.

The many positive associations of the color green:
To celebrate both the color and the upcoming holiday, I've created a collection of jewelry in many hues of green and put it on sale for 17% off when you spend $20 or more through March 17th! Enjoy, everyone needs a little green!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Click the shamrock to see the Love the Green Collection