Saint Patrick is the Patron Saint of Ireland as properly as of the NYPD. So who was this 5th Century monk who became a Saint. He was born in Roman occupied Britain and sent as a slave to Ireland when he was 16. He escaped and returned to Britain but later came back to Ireland as a missionary and is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland, which remains staunchly Catholic to this day. It is legendary that he banished snakes from Ireland (there aren’t any) and in folk legend he slew the dragon. (Dragons and snakes frequently get confused in mythology).

But possibly much more significantly he utilised the three leaves of the Irish Shamrock to clarify the Holy Trinity as the 3 in one particular Union of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Even today the Shamrock, a kind of clover, features in Irish symbology.

St Patrick is believed to have died on March 17 461AD. For over 1,000 years now the Irish observe this feast day. But the first St Patrick’s Day Parade ever was held in New York City in 1762 by Irish Soldiers serving as British Soldiers.

As we all know a flood of Irish came to the US to escape the potato famine and the poverty in Rural Ireland and so New York, Chicago, Boston and many other cities received big communities of Irish immigrants. New York Police Department was at a single stage largely manned by Irish immigrants and to this day several of New York’s Finest claim Irish ancestry.

There are over 100 St. Patrick’s day parades in the US every single year, New York and Boston becoming by far the largest. In New York alone more than 150,000 men and women join the march and it is witnessed by more than 3,000,000. This procession is accompanied by Bagpipes and drums and Irish music and jigs and a lot of folks wearing green hats adorned with the Shamrock.

Needless to say a great deal of alcohol is consumed that night and the sale of green beer is common in all the Irish pubs about the planet. Just about each and every Irishman in the globe is likely to be somewhat the worse for put on on February 18.

It is for this purpose that it is customary to send St. Patricks Day cards to all who claim Irish extraction and are going to celebrate the day.

The Luck of the Irish is legendary, They have a popular saying that says “If you are lucky adequate to be Irish, You are lucky enough” Normally the Irish are optimists so that they think they will land on their feet as they are inherently lucky. Partly it comes from the California Gold rush exactly where many an Irishman located his “pot o’ gold”.

Ignoring their a lot of misfortunes and woes are the signs of a correct optimist and most of the St Patrick’s day cards will have messages that include the color green and be filled with best wishes for lots of Irish Luck for the forthcoming year. Be sure to order yours to send out and may the luck o’ the Irish be with you.