Why do people drink Green Beer on St. Patrick's Day?
St. Patrick's Day honors Saint Patrick, the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland, who is credited with bringing christianity to Ireland. This traditional feast day falls during Lent, and the usual restrictions on eating meat and drinking are waived for a day. The Spokane Press first reported on a bartender serving this delightful green brew to thirsty Irishmen in 1910. However, the invention of Green Beer is usually attributed to Dr. Thomas Hayes Curtin, who mixed up a batch for his social club's St. Patrick's Day party in 1914. He used a laundry whitener called wash blue to concoct it (yikes!). Regardless of who invented it (and the fact that it's not an Irish tradition), by the 1950s this colorful beer had caught on in the U.S. And we're still drinking it by the boatload to celebrate St. Patrick's Day today!