CULTURE/SOCIETY - Everything You Know About St. Patrick's Day Is Wrong

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/14/brutally-honest-st-patricks-day-facts_n_4957861.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063

By christine-dalton

St. Patrick's Day is almost upon us! Typically, we associate the holiday with drinking, drinking, and drinking. Oh, and being Irish.

But there's a lot more to St. Patrick's Day than most people know. Truthfully, you've probably been living a lie. When you learn all the facts, this holiday actually kind of... sucks.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but here are 10 brutally honest facts about St. Patrick's Day.

• 8
  St. Patrick's Day was invented in America.
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  Really?! Catholic University's Irish American expert, Timothy Meagher, explains that St. Patrick's Day celebrations began in the 18th century in American cities with large Irish immigrant populations."It becomes a way to honor the saint but also to confirm ethnic identity and to create bonds of solidarity," Meagher explained. Really.
  • 4
    St. Patrick's Day used to be a dry holiday.
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    Today's booze-bags look to the holiday as a great excuse to start drinking Guinness at 9 AM. Until 1970, however, all pubs in Ireland were closed inobservance of the religious feast day.
    • 2
      There are more Irish people living in the U.S. than Ireland.
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      The population of Ireland is about 4.2. million. In contrast, there are around 34 MILLION people of Irish descent living in America.
      Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!
      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/14/brutally-honest-st-patricks-day-facts_n_4957861.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063