If you’re at all like me, you view March 17 as a day of celebration. Why? Because there aren’t enough days of celebration each month, and this is the only “holiday” in March. It’s basically a given that you will find me wearing green and drinking an Irish beer or other drink at some point on 3/17. Also, I’m Irish. It would go against my culture to not participate! lol
Up until today, I have blindly followed this tradition. I can proudly say I now know why certain things are the way they are. Like why wear green? Or aside from the fact that it’s fun, why do we get to pinch people on this particular day of the year? Apparently this is the reason:
It’s an entirely American tradition that probably started in the early 1700s. St. Patrick’s revelers thought wearing green made one invisible to leprechauns, fairy creatures who would pinch anyone they could see (anyone not wearing green). People began pinching those who didn’t wear green as a reminder that leprechauns would sneak up and pinch green-abstainers.
Who knew?
For the rest of the scoop on St. Patty’s Day, check out this article from Yahoo News: Why do we wear green?
