St. Patrick’s Day is fast approaching. A lot of people may have a green shirt picked out to wear or purchased some fun accessories to model throughout the day. Quite a few people will attend parties, especially considering it falls on a Friday this year. Regardless of how someone chooses to celebrate the day, if at all, many of us partake in a lot of traditions without knowing the explanation behind them. It’s important to learn the history behind holidays and the traditions associated with them, and this article is going to explore several fun facts about St. Patrick’s Day.

Starting with the holiday itself –

The namesake goes to Saint Patrick. Shocker. Born in Britain, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders at the age of sixteen and was a slave for six years. He turned to religion during this difficult time in his life. It was what he believed to be the voice of God that told him to leave Ireland in a dream, inspiring him to escape captivity. However, after returning back to Britain, an angel in a dream told him he must return to Ireland as a missionary.

After fifteen years of religious training, he became a priest and journeyed back to Ireland. He infused traditional Irish ritual into his teachings of Christianity, appeasing both those who were already Christian and those who were not yet. Saint Patrick created the image of the Celtic cross, a mix of the Christian cross and a sun, which was a powerful symbol in Ireland. He died on March 17 around 460 A.D., giving us the day his life and legacy are celebrated. However, the Church didn’t establish the holiday until 1631.

But why do we wear green?

Well, the color associated with the holiday was initially blue. It wasn’t until the Irish Rebellion in 1798 that the color switched to green. There are many theories as to why the color became green. Some of those say that green was a tribute to the Emerald Isles or to represent the clovers Saint Patrick used in his teachings. It could be that the holiday falls right before the official start of spring and symbolized growth and rebirth.

It’s even tradition for some people to wear orange on St. Patrick’s Day. For Protestants, wearing orange allowed them to protest against the Roman Catholics who wore green. They wore orange in honor of William of Orange, the Protestant king of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Yet, no one wears white. The third color of the Irish flag symbolizes peace between the Catholic majority and Protestant minority in Ireland.

So, what’s with the pinching?

It turns out there are two explanations for this fun (and painful) tradition. One such explanation is that the pinching is a reminder for people to wear green in order to honor the Emerald Isle. The other is a bit more interesting. It’s said that leprechauns can’t see the color green. So by wearing green, it makes people invisible to pesky leprechauns who will pinch anyone they can see. A pinch from a human is really just a friendly reminder to wear green to avoid getting pinched by a leprechaun. So if you get pinched on St. Patrick’s Day, consider thanking the person.

Now when you’re drinking a green beer and wearing clover shaped glasses this upcoming St. Patrick’s Day, you’ll know a bit more about why we celebrate it with the traditions we have and why it’s a holiday in the first place.