On Tuesday, the world will turn green as over 70 million people – from Dublin to Dubai, Peru and Stockhom – will celebrate St Patrick’s Day. Guinness, the Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St James’s Gate, Dublin, is synonymous with these celebrations, which range from parades – two of which are planned today in Valletta and Floriana – to the ‘greening’ of iconic landmarks and sights.

Here are some interesting facts:

• St Patrick’s name was not Patrick. His real name was actually Maewyn Succat.

• For many years, blue was the colour most often associated with St Patrick. Green was considered unlucky. St Patrick’s blue was considered symbolic of Ireland for many centuries and the Irish Presidential Standard is still blue.

• St Patrick’s Day is not just a national holiday in Ireland. It is also a national holiday on the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean, a tiny island with around 4,000 inhabitants, which became home to a large number of Irish emigrants in the 17th century.

• St Patrick’s Day has been celebrated in space – twice. In 2011, the International Space Station hosted a St Paddy’s Day celebration with Irish-American astronaut Catherine Coleman playing a 100-year-old flute and a tin whistle while floating weightlessly in space. In 2013, astronaut Chris Hadfield celebrated St Patrick’s Day by photographing Ireland from space while singing Danny Boy.

• The first parade held to honour St Patrick’s Day took place not in Ireland but in the US. Today, parades take place across the world in celebration of the patron saint of Ireland, including Floriana, Valletta and St Julian’s in Malta.

• Over 13 million pints of Guinness are expected to be consumed around the world on the day.

Guinness is imported in Malta by Farsons Beverage Imports Company Ltd, a member of the Farsons Group.

Helpful Irish phrases

• Pionta Guinness, le do thoil (Pyun-tah Guinness leh duh huh-il ‘A pint of Guinness, please.’

• Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona duit! (Law ale-yeh pawd-rig sunna ditch ‘Happy St Patrick’s Day!’ (singular)

• Ádh na nÉireannach (Awe nah Nay-ron-okh Luck of the Irish

• Sláinte! (Sloyn-cheh ‘Cheers!’

• Go raibh maith agat (Guh rev mah a-gut ‘Thank you.’

• Tá fáilte romhat (Taw foyle-cheh roh-ot ‘You’re welcome.’

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