St. Paddy’s Day Little Known Facts
- Did you know: blue was the color originally associated with St. Patrick, before the beloved green?
- The first St. Patrick’s Day parade in the American colonies was held in New York City on March 17th in 1762.
- St. Patrick’s Day is the traditional day for planting peas.
- Cabbage seeds are often planted on Saint Patrick’s Day, and old-timer farmers believed to make them grow well, you needed to plant them while wearing your pajamas!
The Leprechauns are coming!
Leprechauns were first written about in old Irish fables, so it makes sense they’d be associated with a holiday dedicated to Irish culture. If you’re not familiar with the original legend of the leprechaun, it goes like this: leprechauns were small pint-sized men who worked as shoemakers and hid gold coins in pots at the end of rainbows. Legend has it these tiny creatures were very mischievous and hard to catch, because they were so small and tricky—but if you were able to catch one, you’d be granted three wishes by the leprechaun in exchange for setting him free.
Fun ways to make your children, nieces and nephews, or grandchildren believe in leprechauns, grab green food dye and get creative. My mom tinted our milk and mashed potatoes on St Patty’s. Mint-chocolate-chip milkshakes are a crowd pleaser. My children’s preschool tinted all the toilet water green and left the toilet seats up. Scatter gold coins or make a pathway from the kiddos rooms to the kitchen table where a box Lucky Charms await.
Also, check out this fun and delicious Mac’n Cheese recipe from Lisa Boyd.
Fun Things To Do
Luck of the Irish
Order your gang Irish Whiskey Bacon Burgers from Hennessey’s in Redondo. The March St. Patty’s burger includes patty, Irish bacon, Irish cheddar, Irish whiskey glaze, French-fried onions, tomato, with a pickle wedge and fries.
hennesseystavern.com
Rock of the Irish
Irish bands Flogging Molly and The Dropkick Murphys will be offering live-streaming concerts March 17th due to Covid. Flogging Molly will be streaming from Dublin straight to you at noon PST on St. Patrick’s. Ticket prices can be found: floggingmollylive.com.
Local Boston Irish band The Dropkick Murphy’s will be live streaming for free at 4pm PST on March 17th, @ DKMstream.com
Board of the Irish
Create an Irish themed cheese board with a side of soda bread, chutney and Guinness. Traditional Irish cheeses that can be found at our local Bristol Farms and Trader Joe’s. Here’s what to look for: Dubliner, Durrus, Gubbeen, Cashel Blue and Cahill’s Whiskey Cheese. Sprinkle your board border with fresh herbs or clover.
