Why Wear Green?

Green, I must wear green today.  There will be lots of people wearing green, and if I do not wear green, I will get pinched.  Look around, do you see people wearing green today?  Are you wearing green today?  

Well, there used to be lots of people wearing green.  What is it all about.  When I poll people, most do not remember, and some do not know.  Why do people wear green today?  Is it because they like green?  Maybe it’s because green is their color (people tell me green is my color all the time).  Perhaps it is because green things are sprouting, so we wear green to celebrate spring.  (In New Orleans people wear green early, along with yellow for daffodils and purple for redbuds … wrong!)

When I poll people about why green is worn today I am surprised, many do not know.  When I was young, everyone knew.  It was part of our school.  It was part of what went on at home.  We all wore green on this day because if you forgot, someone would pinch you.  Everyone knew it was because of St. Patrick’s Day.  And we knew parts of the story.

When I ask people where is their green they are surprised, and wonder why I ask.  When I remind them it is St. Patrick’s day, most realize, and just say, “Oh.”  (no exclamation point!) They know.  They didn’t remember, but they did not forget.  It doesn’t matter.

Why St. Patrick’s Day? Some will say because we are celebrating some guy named St. Patrick, but they really don’t know who he is.   In some places it is because people think it’s about green beer (was this Patrick guy a brewer?  Or maybe it is just because the Irish like beer, and everyone, even those not Irish should join them.)

Some say it is because of Shamrocks.  They really don’t know the why of shamrocks, they just know shamrocks are part of it.  Was it because Patrick was a gardener, and grew shamrocks?  Did he wear shamrocks, or maybe sell shamrock pins? No, he told stories about shamrocks.  But people have forgotten the story.

Who was Patrick?  A lucky leprechaun of Ireland?  Or, was he like the Pied Piper of England … just he ridded the island of snakes (not children).  If someone rid our country of snakes, we would celebrate!!

We can look this all up on line, the point is, we have forgotten the story.

Or maybe the story does not matter.  We live in a busy world, and who has time to remember that today is March 17, and March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day, and we are supposed to wear green.  We are individualists, and do our own thing, in this generation.  We don’t need to wear green!

But this is sad, for the stories teach us.  They have passed down truths for generations.  Do you know who St. Patrick is?  The real St. Patrick … not the one who drinks beer (that is made up).  St. Patrick is a hero.  He told a story which saved Ireland.  He really did chase a snake out of the country (Not many snakes, one snake) … What snake?  The red snake.  Read the story, think, and you will understand.