As you prepare to don your finest green-hued clothes, you may know some of the most basic facts about the history of St. Patrick’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, also known as the Feast of Saint Patrick or the Day of the Festival of Patrick, is a cultural and religious holiday observed annually on March 17. The day memorializes “the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461), the foremost patron saint of Ireland” And despite being a celebration of specifically Irish culture and history, Wikipedia notes that St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated “in more countries than any other national festival.” RELATED: 7 Easy St. Patrick’s Day Cocktail Recipes With A Sweet Aphrodisiac Twist But besides donning green, downing pints of Guinness, feasting on corned beef and cabbage, and however else you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day what do you really know about this Irish Holiday? Playing a fun game of St. Patrick’s day trivia is a great way to find out!
Here are 30 St. Patrick’s Day trivia questions and answers to share with your friends on March 17.
1. Did St. Patrick start leap year proposals?
Answer: We can’t say for sure, but some say women can thank St. Patrick for the Irish tradition of “leap year proposals.” As explained on Irish Central, “Looking back through ancient Irish history, it is said that the tradition began in 5th century Ireland when St. Brigid of Kildare bitterly complained to St. Patrick that women had to wait far too long for men to propose. The legend says that St. Patrick decreed the women could propose on this one day in February during the leap year. I’m sure the women were thrilled. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean guys outside of Ireland bought into the hype. While it’s been said the “tradition was then taken to Scotland by Irish monks,” according to one survey, “one-in-five Scotsmen (21 percent) would rather run a mile than say ‘yes’ if their girlfriend proposed on February 29.”
2. Is it lucky to tie the knot on St. Patrick’s Day?
Answer: St. Patrick’s Day is considered the luckiest day of the year to get married … unless it falls on a Saturday. According to this Irish proverb, Saturday is the worst day of the week to get married. “Marry on Monday for wealth / Tuesday for health / Wednesday the best day of all / Thursday for losses / Friday for crosses / Saturday for no luck at all.”
3. What does Patrick mean?
Answer: Recent statistics show that “658,952 boys in the United States have been named Patrick since 1880.” Maybe their parents were inspired by their own St. Paddy’s Day weddings! The name means “noble” or “patrician.”
4. Did St. Patrick’s Day double the consumption of Guinness?
Answer: As reported in UK newspaper The Telegraph, “On any given day 5.5 million pints of Guinness, the famous Irish stout brand, are consumed around the world. But on St. Patrick’s Day, that number more than doubles to 13 million pints, said Beth Davies Ryan, global corporate-relations director of Guinness.”
5. How many times is the Blarney Stone kissed every year?
Answer: The Blarney Stone (Cloch na Blarnan) “is a block of Carboniferous limestone built into the battlements of Blarney Castle, Blarney.” Because, as legend has it, “kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of the gab,” it is reportedly kissed by up to 400,000 people a year, making us wonder if you’re likely to catch more than just a new gift of eloquent speech from this Irish tourist attraction. Besides, it’s not an easily accomplished feat, as in order to get one’s lips planted on the Blarney Stone, “the participant must ascend to the castle’s peak, then lean over backwards on the parapet’s edge.” No, thanks.
6. When did cards become a thing for St. Patrick’s Day?
Mailing cards to loved ones isn’t only Valentine’s Day or Christmas tradition. Answer: Hallmark began selling St. Patrick’s Day-themed cards in the early 1920s, and the company reports that approximately 12 million Americans exchange them each year.
7. How many towns have been named Shamrock?
Answer: There are 13 towns in the United States named Shamrock (after the floral emblem of Ireland):
Shamrock, WisconsinShamrock, West VirginiaShamrock, VirginiaShamrock, TexasShamrock, PennsylvaniaShamrock, OklahomaShamrock, New YorkShamrock, MissouriShamrock, LouisianaShamrock, IllinoisShamrock, GeorgiaShamrock, FloridaShamrock, Colorado
Visiting any one of these Irish-inspired destinations would make for a great St. Paddy’s Day date, don’t you think?
8. Where did the first Saint Patrick’s day parade take place?
Answer: The first parade to celebrate this holiday actually took place in America, not Ireland. It took place in 1737 in Boston.
9. What St. Patrick’s Day parade is the largest in the USA?
Answer: New York’s St. Patrick’s day Parade is the largest civilian parade in the US, with Boston a close second.
10. When did Chicago start the tradition of turning the Chicago River green for St. Patrick’s Day?
Answer: It all started in 1962. RELATED: 17 Best St. Patrick’s Day Gifts That Will Bring You The Luck Of The Irish
11. What changed for Ireland regarding St. Patricks Day in 1961?
Answer: The holiday was looked upon from a very religious viewpoint up until the 1960s. Because of the religious observance, Bars were banned by law from being open on that day until 1961 when the law was repealed.
12. What year did Green become the official St. Patrick’s Day color?
Answer: We wear green on St. Patrick’s day today, but that wasn’t always the case. It wasn’t until 1798 that the color green was established as the St. Patty’s Day color. Oddly enough, it was the same year as the Irish rebellion.
13. When did St. Patrick’s day become an official public holiday?
Answer: 1903 is when the holiday transitioned from a strictly holy day for Catholics to a public holiday for Ireland.
14. What year did the annual shamrock ceremony begin at the white house?
Answer: It started in 1952.
15. Where was St. Patrick buried?
Answer: It is said he was buried in the town of Downpatrick, County Down located in Northern Ireland.
16. What is a traditional meal for St. Patrick’s Day?
Answer: Catholics often had a meal consisting of cabbage and Irish bacon after morning church.
17. When was Dublin’s first official celebration of St. Patrick’s Day?
Answer: The first celebration for Dublin was in 1931.
18. What did St. Patrick drive out of Ireland, according to the lore?
Answer: Snakes!
19. Why are green shamrocks introduced around St. Patrick’s Day?
Answer: St. Patrick was said to have used the three-leaf clover to demonstrate the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost) to potential converts.
20. What are the odds of finding a four-leaf clover?
Answer: 1 in 10,000 RELATED: 5 Best Green Beer Drinking Games For St. Patrick’s Day
21. How many people visit New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral each year?
Answer: 5.5 million
22. Where was the real St. Patrick born?
Answer: Britan
23. What iconic structure turns green to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day in England?
Answer: The London Eye
24. About how many Americans claim to have some Irish ancestry?
Answer: 33.1 million
25. How many days does Dublin’s annual St. Patrick’s Day festival last?
Answer: Four
26. What was St. Patrick’s name when he was born?
Answer: Maewyn Succat
27. St. Patrick was originally associated with what color?
Answer: Blue
28. What does the circle at the very center of a Celtic cross represent?
Answer: The sun
29. What happened to Saint Patrick at age 16 before becoming a priest?
Answer: He was abducted and brought to Northern Ireland
30. What was St. Patrick’s Day originally mean to celebrate?
Answer: It was a day honoring Saint Patrick for introducing Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century. RELATED: 10 Acceptable Pick Up Lines For St. Patrick’s Day Alexandra Churchill is a digital editor based in New York City who currently works for Martha Stewart Living. Her work has been featured on numerous sites including The Huffington Post, Her Campus, USA TODAY College, and Northshore and Ocean Home magazines.
