You may be living under a rock if you do not know what March 17th or St. Patrick’s Day represents in the United States during this day and age. The feast day of the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick, is credited with bringing Christianity to the island, but he may be more widely known as the legendary figure who is said to have driven the snakes out of Ireland into the sea.
St. Patrick’s Day is thought of as a day for celebrating, sometimes over imbibing, and wearing the color green. But as a child, my Methodist mother insisted that I wear the color orange to school on St. Patrick’s Day. You probably assume that this tradition led to some teasing by classmates, and you would be correct. For almost two centuries green has been the color of St. Patrick’s Day, but historically, it could have been green, orange, or even blue. I assume that my classmates did not know the history of wearing either of those colors, neither did I. In my defense, I just told them that I had no green clothes! But, as a young girl, I always felt left out of the festivities.
Still, no doubt you’ve seen a lot of people wearing green this weekend. But have you seen people wearing orange as I did? Why are they wearing orange, why did I wear orange? Unbelievably, there is tradition behind this color choice, and it has historical significance.
Here’s what I learned about the wearing of the Orange as opposed to the wearing of the Green:
1. It seems to be for religious reasons. The color orange represents the sizeable Protestant population within Ireland while wearing green symbolizes Roman Catholicism. The Roman Catholic religion originally invented the holiday.
2. St. Patrick’s Day was assimilated by Protestants in the years following the tradition, but they chose to wear their representative orange color instead of green. When the protestant William of Orange conquered the Catholic James II at the Battle of Boyne, the victor’s color of orange would be immortalized for centuries. Since 1690 orange has held close ties to the Protestant community. Did you know that the name “Orange” is actually a reference to the “Principality of Orange,” a feudal state in the South of France?
3. Fast forward to the year 1921when the United Kingdom’s Government of Ireland Act of 1920 came into play. Hence, the state of Northern Ireland and Ireland and the opposing colors.
4. Today, the Irish flag incorporates three colors on their vertically striped flag. Green symbolizes Ireland’s nickname “The Emerald Isle” and the Roman Catholic origins. Orange symbolizes the Protestant people, and the white stripe between the two fields is indicative of the unity and diversity that both religions maintain in Ireland, meaning, in a symbolic way, there is no bad blood between the two religious philosophies. We all know that wasn’t always true.
Why did some people in Ireland wear blue (???) on St. Patrick’s Day?
1. When St. Patrick’s Day originally became a holiday in Ireland the color blue was what the patron saint of Ireland was said to have worn. Ancient artworks often depict St. Patrick in blue garments. In fact, Irish coats of arms and some sports jerseys still use the color blue.
2. Green was adopted when the tradition and festivities became popular in the then-colonies by Irish soldiers when the first St. Patrick’s Day parade was held in 1762 in New York. The color green became associated with the holiday.
Here’s another question:
Is, or was it offensive to wear orange on St. Patrick’s Day? The answer is maybe if you lived in Ireland, maybe even today. But it is far more offensive is to call the day “St. Patty’s Day” than to wear the color orange, as the acceptable nickname term is “St. Paddy’s Day.” The original Irish spelling of Patrick was Padraig. It was anglicized to Patrick, thus the preference for the acceptable nickname.
If you see someone wearing orange or even blue, which is highly unlikely on this St. Patrick’s Day, it probably means that they are celebrating a different historical tradition than is usually signified by the color green. In 2024, in the United States, the holiday of the patron saint of Ireland mainly serves as a secular celebration of Irish heritage and pride in the form of festivals and parades in addition to the now famous pub crawls. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the historic traditions are almost lost in this day and age.
So, what color should you wear? Will it be green, orange, or blue in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day? The historical background or significance aside, just be sure that you can fully explain your color choice, in case it is orange or blue to your fellow inquisitive celebrants after one of those pub crawls! On second thought, maybe you shouldn’t. You may just put them to sleep after the celebration of the day!
Comentários