When you suit up in green and head to the St. Patrick’s Day parade or your favorite Irish bar to celebrate, dropping these facts and figures about the holiday’s origins will impress your fellow revelers!
5: St. Patrick’s Day began as a religious holiday to honor the saint who, in the fifth century, introduced Christianity to Ireland.
1762: The first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place in New York on March 17, 1762.
149 million: People in the US who plan to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in 2018.
83: Percentage of those celebrating who plan to wear green.
27: Percentage of Americans who plan to go to a bar or restaurant to celebrate.
$5.9 billion: Expected St. Patrick’s Day spending in 2018.
3,400: Species of snakes. According to legend, St. Patrick drove all of the snakes from Ireland.
5: Approximate number of hours the Chicago River remains emerald green after being dyed for the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade.
17-5641: The Pantone number for the color emerald green, which was the “Pantone Color of the Year” for 2013.
32.3 million: People in the US with Irish ancestry, as of 2016.
1 in 10,000: Your chances of finding a four-leaf clover.
6: Movies in the original “Leprechaun” franchise. Jennifer Aniston had one of her first starring roles in the original “Leprechaun,” released in 1993. A seventh movie, “Leprechaun: Origins,” was released in 2014.
6: Ireland’s global rank in beer consumption per capita in 2016, with 98.2 liters.
21: The US rank in beer consumption per capita, with 74.8 liters.
8: Types of marshmallows in Lucky Charms cereal: hearts, stars, horseshoes, clovers, blue moons, rainbows, and magical unicorns.
170: Rank in popularity in the US of the baby name Patrick in 2016.
460: Calories in a 12-ounce (small) McDonald’s limited-edition green Shamrock Shake. The large size has 800!
