Ireland is the ONLY ONE!!

I learned something very unique about Ireland today! They are the only country in the world with a musical instrument as their national symbol!  The harp is the national symbol of Ireland. This has been a fact since the thirteenth century. There is something else related to one of my previous blogs that I learned as well! The harp was trademarked by Guinness before the country of Ireland designated it as their national symbol. The Irish government had to flip the harp for the national symbol the other way to avoid issues with Guinness. To learn more about harps in Ireland watch the YouTube video or click the image below!


 


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WELCOME!!!

 Welcome to Brainy Snacks!  As a lifelong learner (and educator), I try to learn something new every day to keep my brain engaged and busy. These "things" do not need to be formal school subjects or specific categories. I generally learn something new from friends and family via social media. If I do not learn anything new, interesting, funny, or strange, I go to the internet! I decided to start a blog to share what I am learning. This is a new experience for me and I hope to reach as many as I can with new, interesting, funny, or strange things! There are so many heavy things going on in the world today and it is refreshing to find a place for, well, FUN! I hope you enjoy the Brainy Snacks as much as I do!
Read more

Groundhog, schmoundhog....

Image
 As someone who grew up in western Pennsylvania, I am very familiar with February 2nd being Groundhog's Day. This is a tradition in Pennsylvania, rooted in German lore. Early settlers used animals to predict seasonal weather changes. There is a whole festival that happens for Groundhog's day in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. In fact, the most famous groundhog is Punxsutawney Phil!  What I did not know was that there were so many others trying to predict whether an early spring is on tap, or six more weeks of winter!  ChatGPT gave me the following:  🇺🇸 United States Staten Island Chuck — New York City Famous for disagreeing with Phil and for once biting Mayor Bloomberg (iconic behavior). Buckeye Chuck — Ohio Ohio’s official groundhog. The state legislature once declared him more accurate than Phil (extremely Ohio). General Beauregard Lee — Georgia Southern groundhog = wildly optimistic. Often predicts early spring , shockingly. Dunkirk Dave — New York ...
Read more

How did St. Patrick's Day become the holiday it is today???

Image
 Happy St. Patrick's Day!! I decided to explore how St. Patrick's Day became the holiday it is today. I knew that St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. He is known for spreading Christianity across Ireland. The seventeenth is the day of his death. Over the years, he became a cultural and religious symbol of Ireland. Over centuries, it was a solemn day in Ireland. There were no parades or green beer. It wasn't until the 1700s that Irish immigrants used the day to celebrate their culture and identity in America! The parades, wearing green, and music eventually evolved into a global celebration. Ireland adopted the festive celebration in the twentieth century! I learned that what originated as a solemn day in Ireland, evolved into a green celebration in what became the United States of America!  Pretty cool!  To learn more, watch the YouTube video or click the link below!    
Read more