Have you ever wondered about the origin of St. Patrick’s Day? Here’s a quick look that may have you delira and excira (delighted and excited).

Irish by birth or simply Irish in spirit, many of us join in on St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. In honor of this holiday, we decided to delve into its history and the contributions of the Irish that make our lives richer—including some fun slang and links to tasty recipes.

Who was St. Patrick?

Patrick, before he was a saint, lived a dramatic life. This native of Britain born circa 386 A.D., was a kidnapped as a 16-year-old by pirates and held in Ireland as a slave for six years. A voice urging him to escape came to him in his sleep; it promised he would find his way home. The escape was a harrowing journey, but he was reunited with his family.

Patrick’s Christian faith led him to enter the priesthood. He was ordained around 418 A.D. and returned to Ireland where he spent the remainder of his life as a missionary.

What is March 17 about?

The holiday was originally a religious celebration, a day of feasting on the anniversary of St. Patrick’s death. Today, it’s also a secular celebration of Irish culture. Indeed, there is much to celebrate!

Celebrating Irish contributions

Some of our most beloved authors have been from Ireland: Jonathon Swift (Gulliver’s Travelers), Oscar Wilde (The Picture of Dorian Gray), James Joyce (Ulysses) and C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia), just to name a few.

When it comes to literature and speech, it would be gammy (messed up) to overlook how the Irish turn a phrase. Just for fun, learn some Irish slang from this Vanity Fair video. Expanding your vocabulary might take the stress out the situation the next time your car is banjanxed (broken down) and you’re feeling like an eejit (fool) since it’s been donkey’s years (a very, very long time) since you’ve had it tuned up.

Modern life wouldn’t be the same without the ingenuity of the Irish. We can thank inventors from the Emerald Isle for the induction coil (an electrical transformer used in many applications including car ignitions), guided missile, ejector seat, hypodermic syringe, submarine, color photography, trans-Atlantic calls and the modern tractor, as well as armored tanks.

Of course, we have to recognize the good eats that come from Ireland as well! Irish stew, shepherd’s pie and soda bread are traditional favorites. If you fancy cooking something in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, check out these 25 Irish recipes from BBC Good Food. And if you enjoy the flavor of stout, try these10 Guinness recipes from the Spruce Eats—including beer jelly.

Head to a parade or pub event, cook yummy Irish food, wear something green and you’ll be suckin’ diesel (doing well) this St. Paddy’s day!

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