Four Leaf Clover Find is 1 in 10,000 - St Patrick's Day Facts

By Daniel Blake, Christian Post Contributor Saturday, March 17, 2012

It's St. Patrick's Day 2012, so here are a few key facts about the holiday, including the odds of finding a four leaf clover – which is just one in 10,000.

St. Patrick's Day is held on March 17 every year and centers around the Catholic saint carrying the same name, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.

The Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and Lutheran church observe the holiday, with church services, parades, dinners, parties and festivals held across the world.

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Saint Patrick is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved green plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish, and therefore wearing and displaying shamrocks on the occasion became common. Today, green clothing is worn, and often Lenten restrictions are lifted on St. Patrick's Day.

It is believed that St. Patrick's Day is the most widely celebrated saint's day in the modern world, according to the St. Patrick's Day Foundation.

The first Irish parade in honor of St. Patrick took place in Dublin in 1931. Although today the holiday also has secular celebrations tied to it, St. Patrick's Day remains religious in Ireland.

Christian leaders in Ireland have voiced concerns about the non-religious celebrations in the name of Saint Patrick. Friar Vincent Twomey contributed writing to The Word magazine in March 2007.

"It is time to reclaim St. Patrick's Day as a church festival," wrote Twomey, who noted that the "mindless alcohol-fuelled revelry" associated with the holiday does not "bring the piety and the fun together," according to The Irish Independent.

In 2008, over 36.3 million U.S. residents claimed to have Irish ancestry. There are four U.S. towns named after a shamrock - the emblem of Ireland. They include Mount Gay-Shamrock, W.Va., Shamrock, Texas, Shamrock Lakes, Ind., and Shamrock, Okla. Nine cities are named after Dublin.