Travel the World - Week 15

This is the 15th week in my Travel the World personal challenge. Each week I am randomly choosing one country (there are 195 countries in the world) and doing a little research on that country. I then select one tidbit of information about the country as inspiration for the card I make.

This week's country is...

Ireland

Ireland is known as the Emerald Isle, this is because of its lush greenery and rolling hills. The country receives a lot of rain each year, which keeps the grass green and the plants blooming.

Ireland is known throughout the world for its vast amount of castles. Ireland's history is dotted with wars and violence, so castles were built to protect families from invaders. Today, most of the castles are still standing and some can even be visited by tourists.

The Titanic was built in Belfast, Northern Island.

Rotunda Hospital in Dublin opened its doors in 1745. It is the longest-running maternity hospital in the world.

The country’s major exports include food products such as potatoes, lamb and beef. They also export a large amount of zinc, lead, machinery and pharmaceuticals. Their imports include oil, aircraft parts, vehicles, and petroleum gases.

The submarine was invented in Ireland.

Hook Lighthouse (situated on Hook Head at the tip of the Hook Peninsula in County Wexford, in Ireland) is believed to be the oldest working lighthouse in Europe and possibly even the world.

Most Irish people believe that fairies exist. In their culture, fairies have magical powers and bring happiness and great things to families.

Ireland has mounds of dirt that are known as "fairy forts" Legend has it that those who disturb one of these mounds will be riddled with bad luck. These mounds are actually ancient dwellings from the Iron Age.

Croaghaun in Ireland is the second highest cliff in Europe.

The longest place name in Ireland is Muckanaghederdauhaulia.

Halloween was derived from an Irish festival called Samhain.

Any person who is born on St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland is considered to be very lucky.

Only about 9% of people in Ireland have natural red hair, contrary to popular belief.

Ireland is home to what could possibly be the oldest pub in the world. It was opened in 900AD. The bar holds records of every owner since its inception, including when Boy George owned it briefly in 1987.

A law was enacted in 2009 that makes it illegal to be drunk in public in Ireland.

Leprechauns are a huge part of Irish tradition. In Irish folklore, they are tiny men who can fit on top of your shoulder. They are completely harmless, and are believed to have buried numerous pots of gold throughout Ireland.

When children are little, each birthday it is traditional to pick up the child, turn them over and bump their head gently on their birthday cake. The child’s head is bumped once for each year they have lived. It is believed that partaking in this tradition brings good luck and good fortune to the child.

Irish weddings are elegant and large celebrations. Grooms dress in kilts that signify their family’s clan, while brides dress in white to signify their purity. Family members travel far and wide to attend weddings, and the receptions are always massive celebrations involving beer and music.

Funerals are sad occasions in Ireland, but they are very seldom a sad event. Family members use funerals to speak about the deceased life and share memories. Funerals are held in churches, and often include food and drinks. Many churches tried to ban alcohol years ago, but failed in doing so, and now allow alcohol at each funeral and wedding.

The United States White House was designed by Irishman James Hoban who won a competition in 1792 which lead him to creating the building.

I decided to let this Ireland fact be the inspiration for this week's card... Ireland is the third largest tea drinking nation. Statistics show that 1,184 cups of tea on average are drank each year per person. That’s a lot of tea!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp: Technique Junkies Like a Teacup stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Recollections Black and 110# White and SU Cucumber Crush CS and DP from the Basic Grey Captive Paper Pad

Embellishments: Glitter Heart Brads from an unknown vendor