It’s March and in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, it is all things St. Patrick, Irish or Green this week.

This week’s Friday Facts:

Who/What is St. Patrick?

• St. Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland. But Patrick was not his name, nor was he Irish. It is believed his real name was Maewyn Succat and he was born in Roman Britain.
• Patrick was kidnapped by pirates at the age of 16 and taken to Ireland.
• He escaped, studied religion in France, and returned to Ireland to teach Christianity.
• March 17th is celebrated around the world to commemorate his death.
• St. Patrick did not, contrary to folklore tales, rid Ireland of snakes.

Luck of the Irish

• All shamrocks are clover but not all clovers are shamrocks. It’s a botanists mystery.
• There are about 10,000 normal three-leaf clovers for every “lucky” four-leaf one.
• You are far-more-likely to find a 4-leaf clover when you are not looking for it.
• Irish belief is that a four-leaf clover stands for faith, hope, love and luck.
• St. Patrick taught Christianity with the three leaves of the clover as the Holy Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

An Irish Feast

• Irish Stew – a stew chock full of potatoes, carrots, turnips and beef or lamb
• Irish Soda Bread – a no-fail quick bread dotted with raisins
• Corned Beef and Cabbage – a spiced beef cooked with cabbage, carrots, potatoes and onion (more American than Irish)
• Green Eggs and Ham – hard-boiled eggs with broccoli and ham in a cheesy sauce
• Irish Mint Brownies – chocolate brownie topped with mint mousse, topped with chocolate icing
• Find these and other Recipes for Irish Food

I hope you enjoyed this week’s Facts.

I will be putting on my greenest attire and heading to the kitchen to make our Irish Feast – corned beef and cabbage. Let me know in the comments if you plan to observe St. Patrick’s Day and how.