St. Patrick’s Day is the day for celebrating the patron saint of Ireland. We love to don our bright green sweaters, put greenfood dye in our beer or wear a symbolic shamrock. The particular shade of shamrock green is a bluer green, but bright andfestive. It truly is the shade of clover.
I looked up the meaning of wearing green on March 17 and it goes back to the 1600s. According to Wikipedia, “St. Patrick issaid to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish…The colour green hasbeen associated with Ireland since at least the 1640s, when the green harp flag was used by the Irish Catholic Confederation.Green ribbons and shamrocks have been worn on St Patrick’s Day since at least the 1680s.”
Canadian cities have celebrated St. Patrick’s Day for years with parades and festivals, and I have looked for something here inSaanich, but our neighbours in Victoria seem to have the Irish events. So we here in Saanich can at least find a favourite greenshirt or scarf, head down to a local pub, raise a green glass of Guinness and let a little loose for the evening.
Sheri Peterson is a Saanich-based interior designer with over 20 years of experience working with residential, commercial andhospitality clients. Find out more at www.sheripinteriordesign.com.