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Wearing of the green

Originally, the colour associated with Saint Patrick was blue. Over the years the colour green and its association with Saint Patrick's day grew.^[12] Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in celebration of St Patrick's Day as early as the 17th century.^[13] Saint Patrick is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish, and the wearing and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs have become a ubiquitous feature of the day.^[14][15] In the 1798 rebellion, to make a political statement, Irish soldiers wore full green uniforms on 17 March in hopes of catching public attention.^[12] The phrase "the wearing of the green", meaning to wear a shamrock on one's clothing, derives from a song of the same name.

[edit]Ireland