Surprising Facts About St. Patrick’s Day

In a culture rooted deeply in French roots and customs, St. Patrick's Day takes a back seat.  Buried between Mardi Gras and Easter, March 17th is usually celebrated only by the wearing of green on this Irish Holiday.

To help you see what the rest of the world is doing, I thought it would be fitting today to pass along St. Patrick's Day facts...

1. St. Patrick's Day is an American holiday--the first St Patrick's Day parade took place in the United States on March 17,1762. Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through--where else? New York City.

2. The NYC parade became the "granddaddy" of what it is today in 1848 when several New York Irish Aid societies decided to unite their smaller parades to become one. Today the parade is the world's oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States.

Check out 4 other tidbits for St. Patrick's Day at Kate Kelly: Six Surprising Facts About St. Patrick's Day at "The Huffington Post."