5 Things To Know About St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day gets underway March 17 with more than 100 parades nationwide — and with the granddaddy of them all set to celebrate its 250th year.

Mary Higgins Clark has been picked to serve as grand marshal of the historic New York City Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, which is billed as being “on the streets of New York since 1762, the oldest, biggest and best in the world!”

That means the  New York City parade dates back to before the signing of the Declaration of Indepence, and it kicks off at 11 a.m.

The parade can be viewed live, online, at the New York City Saint Patrick’s Day Parade Web site, where facts and memorabilia for purchase — including a commemorative book and pin —  are duly noted as well.

In the meantime, consider these St. Patick’s Day facts  from the History Channel:

• Corned beef and cabbage is the traditional St. Patrick’s Day dish. Some 26.1 billion pounds of beef and 2.3 billion pounds of cabbage were produced in the United States in 2009.

• Irish soda bread comes from using baking soda, instead of yeast, as a leavening agent.

• The first St. Patrick’s Day Parade was held in the United States in 1762, when Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City. More than 100 St. Patrick’s Day parades are held nationwide, with the largest number of celebrations in Boston and New York. The New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade attracts some 150,000 participants and does not feature automobiles or floats.

• More than 36 million U.S. residents claim Irish ancestry, which is more than eight times the population of Ireland itself (4.5 million).

• St. Patrick’s Day symbols and traditions include shamrocks, leprechauns, corned beef and cabbage and the color green. Some are traditional; some by American invention.   

Visit the Brandon Patch Directory to search for food and dining establishments with lots of television sets for viewing, including , , O’Brien’s Irish Pub and O’Toole’s Irish Pub & Restaurant.