Whether it's shamrock shakes, four-leaf clovers, leprechaun hats, or beaded necklaces, the color green seems to be everywhere on St. Patrick's Day. Whenever March 17 rolls around, tens of thousands of Americans—even those without Irish roots—partake in the long-standing St. Patrick's Day tradition of dressing up in the emerald hue. While many assume wearing green will protect them from getting pinched, the color actually stems from Ireland’s political history.
If you’re wondering how and why this custom came to be, we're debunking all the myths and breaking down the real reason why we wear green on St. Patrick’s Day.
Myths About Wearing Green on St. Patrick’s Day
While there are quite a few convincing and widespread arguments about why we wear green on St. Patrick's Day, they're more fiction than fact.
Leprechauns
As legend has it, wearing green makes people invisible to leprechauns. Since these tiny mythical creatures supposedly spend the day pinching anyone who isn’t wearing the color, green attire is almost like armor, based on Irish folklore. But the fear of leprechauns likely originated in America, not Ireland, according to History Channel.
St. Patrick
Another myth is that St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland who's credited with spreading Christianity in the fifth century there, is responsible for the holiday's association with green. However, the earliest depictions of St. Patrick show him clad in blue, not green.
The History of the Color Green on St. Patrick’s Day
At first, blue was a symbolic color for Ireland, but when England ruled over Ireland, the color blue became tainted in Ireland's eyes. In 1541, after English King Henry VIII declared himself the leader of Ireland, he gave the country a coat of arms that had a harp on a blue background. Then, in the late 1700s, King George III created the Order of St. Patrick, an 18th-century order of knights, whose official color was sky blue.
While this was happening, the color green started to become more prominent in Ireland, thanks to the country's verdant landscape and the shamrock that St. Patrick used to explain Christianity. The hue first emerged during the Great Irish Rebellion of 1641, when Irish military leader Owen Roe O'Neill put up a green flag with a harp, rather than a blue one. The color popped up again in 1798 when the Society of United Irishmen, an underground nationalist group inspired by the American Revolution to overthrow English rule, wore green uniforms to support their cause. Although the nationalist group was crushed, the color green persisted as an act of defiance and continued to spread throughout the country via poems and songs.
In the 1800s, when Irish immigrants started relocating all around the world, they brought the tradition with them, especially to the United States. In the 19th and 20th centuries, when the holiday became more celebratory than religious and St. Patrick's Day parades emerged, wearing green became (and continues to be) a fun, celebratory custom.
Lilly Blomquist is the associate editor at The Pioneer Woman, where she writes lifestyle stories across a wide range of topics—including news, entertainment, holidays, food, and more.
