On March 17, everyone wants to be a little Irish. It's a day when Irishness is celebrated around the world.

Here are three things to help you channel your inner Irishman or Irishwoman (with a tip of the hat to the longer blog posting at EF Education First):

1. Once upon a time
St. Patrick is one of the most famous patron saints of Ireland: According to legend, he brought Christianity to the island, made the shamrock fashionable and freed Ireland from snakes. The holiday marks St. Patrick’s death and has been observed as a religious holiday in Ireland for over 1500 years.

2. Cheers to the official holiday!
Ireland only officially started celebrating the day in 1903. Since the Emerald Isle is mainly Catholic and St. Patrick’s Day usually falls on Lent, it used to be a quiet and religious holiday – until the 1960s, when a law allowed pubs to open on St. Paddy’s Day. (Never call it St. Patty’s Day!)

3. The patron saint formerly known as Maewyn
St. Patrick is not actually an Irishman named Patrick: Born Maewyn Succat, the Irish patron saint was actually British. According to the legend, he was sold into slavery in Ireland when he was a teenager, became religious, escaped back to England, became an ordained priest named Patrick and started converting the Irish Celtic pagans to Christianity.