Green is a well loved color when it comes to attention during the holidays. It is the accent to the red and white candy canes during Christmas... the color hidden under the cover of a witches hat on Halloween... but no holiday lets green shine in the spotlight like St. Patrick's Day.

Photo by K2D2vaca

Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated worldwide on March 17th by Irish people and increasingly by many of non-Irish descent (usually in Australia, North America, and Ireland), hence the phrase, “Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day.” Celebrations are generally themed around all things green and Irish; both Christians and non-Christians celebrate the secular version of the holiday by wearing green, eating Irish food and/or green foods, imbibing Irish drink, and attending parades.

Saint Patrick's Holiday History

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Saint Patrick's Day, colloquially St. Paddy's Day or Paddy's Day, is the feast day which annually celebrates Saint Patrick (385–461), one of the patron saints of Ireland, on March 17, the day on which Saint Patrick died. The day is the national holiday of the Irish people. It is a Bank Holiday in Northern Ireland, and a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Montserrat, and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. In the rest of Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, it is widely celebrated but is not an official holiday.

St. Patrick's Blue?

Although Saint Patrick's Day has the color green as its theme, one little known fact is that blue was once the color associated with this day.

The original color of St. Patrick's Day was not green, but blue. It wasn't until the 19th century that green became Ireland's national color and eventually the color of St. Patrick's Day because of its association with the shamrock, springtime and the Emerald Isle.

Some St. Patrick's Color Inspiration

Even more green color palettes: Best Of Color Inspiration: 130+ Green Color Palettes

And even more St. Patrick's Day palettes: GreenLOVE for patricks day!

A Little Irish Stout Inspiration (Just for Good Measure)

Guinness A dry stout that originated in Arthur Guinness's St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin, Ireland. The beer is based upon the porter style that originated in London in the early 1700s. It is one of the most successful beer brands in the world, being exported world wide. The distinctive feature in the flavor is the roasted barley which remains unfermented. It is extremely popular with the Irish and is the best selling alcoholic drink of all time in Ireland, where Guinness & Co. makes almost €2billion annually.

Murphy's Irish Stout With a history dating from 1856, Murphy's Irish Stout encompasses the brewing techniques of the famous Cork brewery. Two world wars, the Irish civil war, and many decades later, Murphy's is now consumed in over 70 countries worldwide. In 2002, It was awarded the gold medal at the International Beer Olympics in Brighton, proving that today Murphy's Irish Stout is truly world-renowned.