Americans Are Having More Fun on St. Patrick's Day Than Ireland Itself;
Americans Spreading Luck O' The Irish, Says American Greetings

CLEVELAND, Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- St. Patrick's Day is possibly the only national holiday that is given recognition outside of its native land. In the U.S., March 17 (the date of Ireland's patron saint's death) is celebrated with everything from parades to sending cards to the "wearing o' the green" at the office. American Greetings offers a wee bit o' fun learning about many St. Paddy's Day traditions.

American Greetings discovered that because St. Patrick's Day is celebrated as a religious observance in Dublin and Limerick, many people from Ireland actually travel to New York, Boston or New Orleans. With these cities and more offering the fun of grand parades and light-hearted celebrations, the travel industry estimates more than 10,000 people will travel from their native Ireland to the U.S. to join in some form of St. Paddy's Day festivities. And Americans recognize the significance by making St. Pat's Day the ninth-largest
card-sending occasion.

"While many Americans treat the holiday as a fun-filled day, some still recognize the religious significance," says Andrew Gallo, St. Patrick's Day product manager at American Greetings. "For example, popular St. Paddy's Day cards range from leprechaun jokes to the Irish blessing."

Traditions, such as the wearing of the green and sending greeting cards, have grown throughout the years. American Greetings offers over 100 card designs for consumers to spread the luck of the Irish.

One popular card puts St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland on a golf course with a golf club. The card reads: St. Patrick, driving the snakes out of Ireland. Hope your St. Paddy's Day suits you to a tee. "American Greetings also covers those with more than one occasion to celebrate on March 17," says Gallo. A good thing since there seem to be a lot of lucky babies born on the Irish holiday, including actors Rob Lowe and Kurt Russell and singer Nat King Cole. "The line includes St. Patrick's Day birthday cards as well as romantic St. Pat's wishes and cards for kids and family, among others."

With as many as 40 million people in the United States (that's 15 percent of the population) being able to trace their roots back to Ireland, it's no wonder the holiday has gained such momentum in the U.S.

American Greetings is helping make it easier to send more St. Patrick's Day cards this year. There is a downloadable coupon available to enable consumers to buy one card and get a second free.

American Greetings is the world's largest publicly held creator, manufacturer and distributor of greeting cards and social expression products. Its staff of artists, designers and writers comprises one of the largest creative departments in the world and helps consumers "say it best" by supplying more than 15,000 greeting card designs to retail outlets in nearly every English-speaking country. The company markets greeting cards under the brand names American Greetings, Forget Me Not, Carlton Cards and Gibson Greetings.

Business units include Balloon Zone, DateWorks calendars, Designers' Collection stationary, DesignWare party goods, GuildHouse candles, Learning Horizons educational products, Magnivision reading glasses, and Plus Mark seasonal gift wrap and boxed greetings. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, American Greetings employs more than 21,000 associates around the world and drives more than $2 billion in annual sales. For more information on the company, visit http://www.americangreetings.com/ on the World Wide Web.