The Wearing of the Green

Each year, on March 17th, you're supposed to wear green. Or, as I learned in elementary school, be pinched.

We Americans have been celebrating the annual celebration of Irish heritage (or mass public drunkenness, depending on your point of view) since the late 18th Century--ie, about as long as we've been a country.

Originally, the color associated with Saint Patrick was blue. But, over the years, the color green has become synonymous with Saint Patrick's Day.

Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in celebration of St Patrick's Day as early as the 17th century. Saint Patrick himself is said to have used the three-petal shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the "pagan" Irish.

Today, wearing green and displaying shamrocks has become a ubiquitous part of the holiday.

The phrase "the wearing of the green," meaning to wear a shamrock on one's clothing, derives from a song of the same name.

Are you wearing green today?