top o' the mornin' to you....

why do we wear green on st. patrick's day? it's a weird thing, really, if you think about it. 


i went to the gym today for lunch hour, and noticed all sorts of people wearing green: serious looking people, funny looking people, old people, young people- some people even wore green work out clothes. and i cannot set myself apart: i am definitely wearing a green dress and a matching green little sock under my booted foot. it's so weird, seeing all these people we don't know, will never talk to and have nothing (or everything?) in common with and yet we're all wearing the same color on the same day. to celebrate.... irish heritage? the death of st. patrick?


but why?


as a modern day woman, i of course googled this why, and have listed below some of my favorite answers to 'why do we wear green on st. patrick's day?'

• So they don't get pinched, silly.
• I don't know why the wearing of certain colors originated, but in Ireland, you only wear green if you are Catholic. Protestants all wear orange. The US does not observe this tradition.
• The reason Irish people wear green was that just before the 1798 Rebellion in Ireland if you wore a shamrock in your hat it signified your support for the Rebellion. Hence the saying "the wearing of the green". Green was also the colour of "Society of United Irishmen", a republician revoluntionary organisation. This organization launched the 1798 Rebellion
• Originally the color associated with Saint Patrick was blue. However, over the years the color green and its association with Saint Patrick's day grew. Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in celebration of St Patrick's Day as early as the 17th century. He is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish, and the wearing and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs have become a ubiquitous feature of the day. 
• In the 1798 rebellion,  in hopes of making a political statement Irish soldiers wore full green uniforms on March 17 in hopes of catching attention with their unusual fashion gimmick.The phrase "the wearing of the green", meaning to wear a shamrock on one's clothing, derives from the song of the same name.
• Probably because you'll be pinched if you don't! 
• School children started this tradition. Green is also the color of spring, the shamrock and is connected with hope and nature. 

in short, seems like no one really knows the answer to why we wear green on this oh so magical of magical days.  sounds like just another excuse we americans made up to have a fun day and drink heavily. all i can tell you is  i don't like getting pinched so I wear my green, not orange, and i am planning on going to The Shoppe to celebrate with the traditional dinner of irish champions: Lucky Charms!