March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day and to celebrate, here are 5 things about the celebration (courtesy of Wikipedia) you can share with your friends and make them green with envy!

1. In the Catholic Church, during the season of Lent, it was the custom in Ireland to give up alcohol for 40 days. However, this sacrifice was temporarily lifted during St. Patrick’s Day. So, the day became an oasis of get-your-drink-on in a dry desert.

2. St. Patrick was not Irish. He was a bishop in Ireland, but he came from a mixed Roman-British family.

3. Contrary to the myth, St. Patrick did not drive snakes from Ireland. Ireland never had snakes to begin with.

4. There was a time when the color associated with St. Patrick was blue, not green.

5. The Republic of Ireland held their first St. Patrick’s Day festival in 1996. Considering the saint lived in the 5th Century, that is a little late for the emerald isle to be jumping on the bandwagon.

Sláinte and Hi 5!