Did you wear your green today, or orange? Or maybe you wore blue? Saint Patrick's Day is really a church holiday and was actually associated with the Saint's color blue, but in more recent history the American Irish happily turned it into a general holiday celebrating their Irish roots. Why green? Wikipedia blames it on the green shamrock that St. Pat apparently used to explain the Trinity to the unsuspecting Celts those umpteen years ago (try fifth century), but whatever the original reason green has become increasingly associated, by us not so Irish people anyhow, with being Irish, so on St. Patrick's Day, when everyone is Irish, the tradition has been to wear green. For those who more thoroughly understand Irish history, however (myself not really included), the color green is linked not simply with Ireland, but more specifically with loyalty to the Irish Catholic Church, while the Irish Protestants often identify more specifically with the color orange (see the flag, with its Catholic green, Protestant orange, and peace seeking white). Sadly, Ireland has a very rocky religious and political history, and for those who can claim Irish roots 365 days of the year identifying with their piece of that history, be it Catholic or Protestant, can be important; for many it's not a light matter. So before you go pinching anybody on St. Pat's day, take a closer look at their colors. I, for one, wore green today. Am I Catholic? No, but neither am I Irish Protestant; I am simply an American citizen enjoyng my one day to claim Irish heritage (remember, on St. Patrick's Day everyone is Irish), so I'm sticking to the commercialized, non-religious, Irish culture embracing version of the holiday, wearing my green and enjoying my Irish boiled dinner to the tunes of River Dance.
Calvin and I stumbled upon this lovely corner of flowering happiness this morning after music class and thought it extra appropriate to share due to its excellent green hue, with a touch of orange (okay, that's yellow, but just try to imagine them orange - they are a pretty promise of spring).
