Just a little here to let you, and Shawn, know a bit about St. Patrick's Day.

What's good luck on Saint Patrick's Day?:

Finding a four-leaf clover (that's double the good luck it usually is). Wearing green. Kissing the blarney stone.

Green is associated with Saint Patrick's Day because it is the color of spring, Ireland, and the shamrock. Leprechauns are also associated with this holiday, although I'm not sure why. Leprechauns of legend are actually mean little creatures, with the exception of the Lucky Charms guy. They were probably added later on for something cute to put on greeting cards.

Leprechaun:

Irish fairy. Looks like a small, old man (about 2 feet tall), often dressed like a shoemaker, with a cocked hat and a leather apron. According to legend, leprechauns are aloof and unfriendly, live alone, and pass the time making shoes...they also possess a hidden pot of gold. Treasure hunters can often track down a leprechaun by the sound of his shoemaker's hammer. If caught, he can be forced (with the threat of bodily violence) to reveal the whereabouts of his treasure, but the captor must keep their eyes on him every second. If the captor's eyes leave the leprechaun (and he often tricks them into looking away), he vanishes and all hopes of finding the treasure are lost.

Blarney stone:

The Blarney Stone is a stone set in the wall of the Blarney Castle tower in the Irish village of Blarney. Kissing the stone is supposed to bring the kisser the gift of the gab (blarney). The castle was built in 1446, and thousands of tourists a year still visit the castle.

The origins of the Blarney Stone's magical properties aren't clear, but one legend says that an old woman cast a spell on the stone to reward a king who had saved her from drowning. Kissing the stone while under the spell gave the king the ability to speak sweetly and convincingly.

It's tough to reach the stone -- it's between the main castle wall and the parapet. Kissers have to lie on their back and bend backward (and downward), holding iron bars for support. Can you imagine kissing something that has had people's lips all over it for 500 years? Yuck!

THE SHAMROCK:

There's a dear little plant that grows in our isle, 'Twas Saint Patrick himself, sure, that set it; And the sun of his labor with pleasure did smile, And with dew from his eye often wet it It grows through the bog, through the brake, through the mireland And they call it the dear little Shamrock of Ireland
(Irish Blessing)

The origins of the shamrock are lost in antiquity, but legend suggests that it was used by St. Patrick in the fifth century to demonstrate the meaning of the Trinity. It is said that Patrick had a time of it trying to convince the people he met in Ireland to believe in the Holy Trinity. Reflecting for a moment, Patrick plucked a shamrock from the earth, and pointed to the three leaves on the shamrock, living proof of the Holy Trinity. Since then, the Shamrock has become the symbol of the land of Ireland.