Saint Patrick’s Day is almost here and for most Americans, it’s a day of wearing green and celebrating all things Irish. With all the information about Saint Patrick, there is a ton of facts and fiction on the world wild web. We decided to list a few common beliefs to see if you believe them to be true or false. 
- Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, wasn’t even Irish. True or False?
That’s true. According to History.com, he was born in Britain as an aristocrat and when he was sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken back to Ireland where he served as a slave for about six years. Later, he became a Christian and received his calling to return to Ireland and convert the people to Christianity. The Irish revered him as a hero and much later after his death, he was named a saint.
- The annual celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day started in all places…America. True or False?
True again. After a potato drought in Ireland, many Irish immigrated to America and was said they began celebrating their heritage, parading to local taverns. That was in the late 1700’s predating the revolutionary war. See more details here via History.com.
- One of the largest populations of Irish-Americans live in Chicago. True or False?
Eh, not really. Can you believe it? I didn’t at first until I saw this report Forbes featured on Irish Americans last year. The top five Metro areas are: Boston, MA, Middlesex County, MA, Peabody, MA, Albany, NY and Syracuse, NY. Chicago’s Mount Greenwood/Southwest Side neighborhood is mentioned as number four America’s Top Irish Neighborhoods though. And truthfully, most of the northeast houses our Irish population. See details via Forbes article here.
- 41% of employed civilian Irish-Americans 16 or older who worked in management, professional and related occupations. True or False?
True. Okay this may not be a common belief, but it’s sure interesting. According to the US Census, that including that impressive percentage, an additional 25.9 percent worked in sales and office occupations; 15.9 percent in service occupations; 9.3 percent in production, transportation and material moving occupations; and 7.7 percent in natural resources, construction and maintenance occupations.
- Chicagoans are so green with pride, they started dying their river green back in 1962. True or False?
True, but it wasn’t until later that they realized the green could be used to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. They discovered it when they were using the color orange to check illegal sewage dumping. One idea led to another and then the idea dying the river green sparked. For more information see here.
Now that was fun, wasn’t it? How well did you do? Did you need the luck of the Irish? Enjoy your holiday!
