Weird Things on St. Patrick’s Day
March 17, 2021
Are you the kind of person who likes to celebrate every holiday even if it is a weird one? Do you like to do odd things with no explanation and everybody thinks your weird or odd but you do not care? Well, then you are probably the kind of person who does odd or even weird things on St. Patrick’s (Paddy’s) Day kind of person. Here are 5 weird or maybe normal St. Paddy’s Day traditions from all over the world.
1. Changing the highway signs — New London, Wisconsin
In New London, Wisconsin every year on St. Patrick’s Day the Shamrock Club goes around on Patrick’s day and changes the signs to say “New Dublin”. Yes, this is weird but how on earth do they get away with this “trick” each year. One would think that the mayor of their town would stop this or maybe he is just joining in the fun of the holiday.
2. St. Patrick’s day plunge – Portland, Maine
This a 17- year old tradition that most people of Maine do every year. People in Maine gather at 5:00 am at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean and go to a restaurant nearby and eat a good breakfast. If jumping into cold water was bad enough then why on earth would you do it at 5:00 am?
3. The green river – Chicago, Illinois
This one was a shock for me because you are probably thinking that it is just a green river or it got polluted. But no, the sanitation workers dye the river bright green a few days before St. Paddy’s day. It began in 1962 when the Chicago plumbers poured over 100 pounds of fluorescein to try and track the illegal dumping of waste in the water. However 59 years later and they are doing it as a tradition what with a vegetable-based dye that will turn the water green within 45 min. The Green River –https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdFQIVvjDH4&t=3s
4. The giant shamrock — O’Neill, Nebraska
O’Neill, Nebraska is the capital of all things Irish. At the intersection of Route 281 and Highway 20, there is a massive clover painted on the ground to serve as a reminder (“allegedly the largest shamrock in the world”). Many people visit O’Neill just for the fun of St. Patrick’s day; they celebrate all day and some events include but not limited to: King and Queen St. Patrick, Green popcorn, and green eggs and ham (doesn’t that just sound amazing!) and of course they wear green.
5. St. Patrick was born in Britain
History shows and suggests that St. Patrick was born in Britain. That’s right, not the four-leaf clover Ireland we all thought he was from. It is said that he was kidnapped at the age of 16 and was sold to the Celtic priest as a slave. After 6 years of being a slave, St. Patrick ran away back to Britain. He came back to Ireland years later as a Christain and ministered to the people in Ireland. As historians are smart it gets a little iffy with St. Pat for there are a lot of legends and folk telling.
There are five weird things you may have not known about St. Patrick’s day. Hope you guys have a great day and do not forget to wear green!
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