Brush up on your St. Paddy's Day history with this pot o’ facts before you dust off your shamrock shades and head out in search of green beer.

Green Is the New Blue, Apparently

Saint Patrick’s color was actually blue—St. Patrick blue to be specific—and is thus the traditional color associated with the original St. Patrick’s Day. But don’t let this stop you from donning your favorite emerald hue—green is associated with St. Patrick's Day because it pays homage to Ireland’s nickname (the Emerald Isles). Plus, it's the color of spring and of the shamrock.

It Wasn’t Always About the Pubs

In Ireland, St. Patrick's Day originated as strictly a religious holiday similar to Christmas and Easter. Ironically, the pubs in Ireland used to be required to close on St. Patrick’s Day to observe the holiday.

Today, that’s all changed, and around 1 million people celebrate the St. Patrick’s Festival in Dublin—a multi-day event complete with parades, concerts, outdoor theater productions, fireworks, and plenty of pub crawling.

The Man Behind It All Was Actually British

Though the history of his life is largely unknown, it’s generally agreed that St. Patrick was born in England to wealthy parents near the end of the 4th century. He was kidnapped by Irish pirates at the age of 16 and sold into slavery where he then spent six years in captivity. According to History.com, he escaped and wrote in a letter that an “angel” spoke to him in a dream telling him to become a missionary in Ireland. He’s largely credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland, and it is believed he died on March 17th, 461. Though he was forgotten for hundreds of years, he was resurrected as the Patron Saint of Ireland in the early 17th century.

Leave It to the US to Throw a Party

What started as a smaller-scale tradition turned into a full-scale celebration in the US. The very first St. Patrick's Day parade was not, in fact, in Ireland. It was in Boston in 1737. The largest parade in the United States, held since 1762, is in New York City and draws more than one million spectators each year. Over 100 US cities hold a parade every year. Chicago’s Irish pride runs so deep that the city dyes the Chicago River green every year to celebrate.

Why is St. Patrick’s Day such a big deal in the US? The sheer number of proud Irishmen and women may have something to do with it. There are 33.7 million U.S. residents who are of Irish ancestry, which totals to almost nine times the entire population of Ireland.

What To Say to Impress the Ladies

Erin go Bragh translates to "Ireland forever." Plus, it sounds a lot smoother to lead with that than “Kiss me, I’m Irish.”

What To Say to Make Ireland Mad

The official name of the holiday is St. Patrick’s Day, and it can be abbreviated to St. Paddy’s Day. If you have an Irishman in your life and you’re looking to start a fight, call it St. Patty’s Day or Patty’s Day. “Paddy” is the proper abbreviation for “Patrick,” but “Patty” is the nickname for “Patricia.” You can see why Ireland might have a problem with the mixup. The Dublin airport posted a message on their Facebook page in 2014 clearing up the misnomer, urging those in the know to spread the word so that “hopefully we can banish the scourge of St Patty once and for all.”