A survey has revealed that half the Brits celebrating St Patrick's Day don't know what it all means.
St Patrick’s Day may be an excuse for many to don something green and have a drink or two, but half of those celebrating the Irish patron saint admit they have no idea why they’re doing so.
New research, from Paddy Power Games, quizzed Brits on their St Patrick’s Day traditions as well as their knowledge of Britain’s patron saints, finding 50% of people celebrating the day will do so without understanding why.
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It even found that in the north of Ireland, 14% (266,000) admitted that they don’t understand what the day is about.
The survey asked Brits if they could correctly name the patron saints of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
It also found that only 3% of Northern Irish respondents thought a made-up St Chad was their nation’s hero.
The English though were the worst at identifying their own patron saint, with two in five people unable to correctly name St George as England’s representative (39%).
Here are the results:
Country: Patron Saint (Proportion unable to identify from own country)
England: St George (39%),
Scotland: St Andrew (19%).
Wales: St David (17%).
Northern Ireland: St Patrick (11%).
Whether or not they fully understand it, those marking Paddy’s Day this Friday are likely to play-up their ‘Irishness’, according to the study.
It showed that 16% are planning to throw out some traditional Irish phrases, such as “craic” or “top o’ the mornin’ to ya”, with 10% admitting to giving the accent a go too.
Exaggerating how Irish they are is also another likely activity for Brits celebrating St Patrick, as 4% will pretend they are actually from Ireland, while 6% will falsely claim they have Irish heritage.
A spokesperson for Paddy Power Games said it looks as though many Brits agree with us, even if they don’t quite understand why it’s such an exciting day.
“Given the English have such a lack of knowledge on the subject, we can add ‘knowing about patron saints’ to a list of things Ireland is better at – on top of horseracing, pouring a decent pint and having access to the Single Market.”
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