• St. Patrick’s Day is observed on March 17 because that is the feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It is believed that he died on March 17 in the year 461 AD. It is also a worldwide celebration of Irish culture and history. St. Patrick’s Day is a national holiday in Ireland, and a provincial holiday in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
• In Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day, people traditionally wear a small bunch of shamrocks on their jackets or caps. Children wear orange, white and green badges, and women and girls wear green ribbons in their hair.
• Many cities have a St. Patrick’s Day parade. Dublin, the capital of Ireland, has a huge St. Patrick’s Day festival from March 15-19, that features a parade, family carnivals, treasure hunt, dance, theatre and more. In North America, parades are often held on the Sunday before March 17. Some paint the yellow street lines green for the day! In Chicago, the Chicago River is dyed green with a special dye that only lasts a few hours. There has been a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Boston, Massachusetts since 1737. Montreal is home to Canada’s longest running St. Patrick’s Day parade, which began in 1824.

But it takes more than the “luck of the Irish” to sell a house in this market… With Spring approaching quickly, buyer activity will be increasing.  The best thing that Sellers can do during this “clean-up” time is to think about their property from a buyer’s perspective.  If a prospective buyer drives by your house, what will his/her first impression be?  The goal is to outshine the competition, to make your property stand out right from the first time a buyer sees it.  With that in mind, consider some small things that you can do to increase the curb appeal of your house. Here are a few suggestions: 1. Clean all your windows so they sparkle (at least the ones which are seen from the street). 2. Put a fresh coat of paint on the entry doors and check for flaking paint at entry points. 3. Rake lawns and sweep sidewalks and driveways. 4. When the time comes, be sure to keep up with the lawn mowing and yard maintenance. 5. Be sure the yard isn’t cluttered and, if you have dogs, patrol for “land mines” left over from the snowy winter. 6. Trim bushes and clean out gardens. 7. Clean porch and outdoor furniture. The goal is to make the buyers stop to contemplate…instead of driving on by!