St. Patrick's Day Sunday March 17, 2024

St. Patrick's Day is the feast day of St. Patrick, a patron saint of Ireland.  Originally celebrated with religious feasts and services, St. Patrick's Day became a secular celebration of Irish culture when it reached the United States alongside Irish immigrants. The holiday has evolved into a celebration of Irish culture with parades, special foods, music, dancing, drinking and a whole lot of green.  The Irish Americans would wear the green as a reminder that they were nationalists first and foremost.  The colors of the Irish flag are green, white and orange, the green symbolizing the Irish nationalism, the orange symbolizing the Orangemen of the north and the white symbolizing peace.

The good thing about explaining St. Patrick's Day to younger kids is that there's plenty of talk about magic and fairies to keep them interested. They guard over pots of gold, and catching a leprechaun is supposed to be great luck, since it also means catching his treasure.  According to Irish folklore, leprechauns wore green, and if anyone else wore the color that individual would be invisible to leprechauns.  Leprechauns are ornery sorts who like to pinch anyone they can see. Therefore, by wearing green clothing, a person is sure to avoid a painful tweak.

So, now that you know the history of why everything is green, here is everything green in the shop!