Ignore your customary color scheme for one day and wear green on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, if Irish traditions are important to you—or if it’s just for fun!
From green beer at bars and pubs to green tacos in Mexican restaurants, everyone puts on their Irish identity for St. Patrick’s Day. Would you ever drink beer that was green if it weren’t for this holiday? But in all the seriousness of our daily lives, it feels good to do something light and celebratory, especially when it is easy.
This year there is even more to celebrate as President Obama has declared March “Irish American Heritage Month,” recognizing the contributions that people coming from Ireland have made to our country, from the colonists in the early Colonial days to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy’s family in recent times.
From green beer at bars and pubs to green tacos in Mexican restaurants, everyone puts on their Irish identity for St. Patrick’s Day. Would you ever drink beer that was green if it weren’t for this holiday? But in all the seriousness of our daily lives, it feels good to do something light and celebratory, especially when it is easy.
This year there is even more to celebrate as President Obama has declared March “Irish American Heritage Month,” recognizing the contributions that people coming from Ireland have made to our country, from the colonists in the early Colonial days to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy’s family in recent times.
When I was a child, school children said that if you didn’t wear green, you would get pinched. So if I didn’t have a green dress or sweater to use as the base of my wardrobe plan that day, I would dutifully search my closet for a print or plaid that had green in it.
Failing that, I would look for jewelry with green, not that I ever had an actual shamrock on a chain or an emerald bracelet, but anything with green leaves or even green specks would do. Or a green barrette or hair ribbon.
And if you forget to put on green until you are in the office, no need to despair—I once knew a lady who put a green rubber band around her wrist.
A friend of mine who has Irish ancestry exemplifies one of the Gaelic looks—pale skin, thick red hair, green eyes—and I’m sure she received a good many green dresses in her days growing up in New York. But green suits her, and it can be any shade: forest green, meadow green, olive green.
If you are one of those who look sick in green, then wearing it to show your love of the Irish culture might not be worth it. A green shamrock pin on a black jacket or a bracelet with green as one of a multitude of colors will get you in the green stream and not make people ask you if you are feeling ok.
Or you can try different types of green. Think of the different complexions that go well with a pure green, then an olive green, then a bright lime green. There may be a green you can wear after all, and when you find it, you can make use of it through all the months—not just for one day in March.
