What springs to mind when you think of St. Patrick’s Day? Dancing, live music, beer gardens, anecdotes, pints of Guinness and a sea of green hats and red beards? But how much do you really know about this day, the man it is about and why not only people in Ireland celebrate him but also others from all around the world? Below we have put together a list of very interesting facts about this popular Irish celebration.

Saint Patrick is not actually a saint. Patrick, whose real name was Maewyn Succat, was never actually canonized by the Catholic Church even with the extensive amount of missionary work he carried out over the course of his lifetime and the years over which he has been widely celebrated.

He was not born in Ireland. Contrary to popular belief, he was not actually Irish but was born in Scotland to Roman parents.

He won the people’s trust by “Chistianizing” the 4-leaf clover. After being captured by Irish raiders at the age of 16 and forced to work in Ireland as a slave, he finally escaped and returned to Britain. After a while, he returned to Ireland headed by the determination instilled in him by a dream he had in which God spoke to him and told him to return. When Saint Patrick returned in 432 and began to spread the teachings of God, it proved to be a long, difficult and dangerous task. However, by using the shamrock in his illustrations as a symbol of the Holy Trinity, he gradually began to earn the people’s trust and by the time of his death in 461, the island was almost entirely Christian.

His work was extensive and unparalleled to anyone of his time. Over his lifetime, Saint Patrick supposedly converted over 135,000 people, consecrated 350 bishops and established 300 churches. We have to consider this something worth honouring! Imagine doing all this in the 5th century, without any of the resources we are privileged to have today: no lines of communication except for word of mouth; less protection and more risk…

The first St. Patrick’s Day parade in the United States took place on 17th March 1762 after Irish settlers in North America brought the Irish tradition of celebrating St. Patrick’s feast day with them. After this, and following the dramatic increase of Irish immigrants to the USA during the mid-19th century, the celebration began to not only spread across other areas of the States, but also across the rest of Western culture, including Spain.

Santa Ponsa is the most popular destination in Majorca for British and Irish visitors.

With numerous British and Irish pubs dotted around the Santa Ponsa area, it’s no wonder it the place-to-be to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. Following huge success from past years, there will be even more performances of Irish dancing & music, including a headlining set from The Raggle Taggle Gypsies. This year’s celebrations for St. Patrick’s Day, on 18th March, will mark the 25 years since this popular Irish folk band arrived to Santa Ponsa, meaning they’re going to put on a show that will be hard to forget!

Don’t worry if you miss out on this year’s St. Patrick’s Day in Santa Ponsa as, with the reopening of Pirates Village on 24th March, you will have all season long to enjoy the resort town’s lively atmosphere!