French’s 5: St. Paddy’s Day Facts | February 2021

March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day. Here are 5 St. Patrick’s Day facts to impress your friends with:

1) The first St. Patrick’s Day celebration in the U.S. was in Boston in 1737.

2) The first time Chicago dyed the Chicago River green for the holiday was in 1962.

3) The population of Ireland is just under 5 million, but ~35 million Americans consider themselves “Irish.”

4) St. Patrick was never officially canonized by a pope.

5) The first official St. Patrick’s Day parade wasn’t in Ireland. It was held in 1607 in a Spanish colony that is now St. Augustine, Florida