Green is associated with nature, freshness and vitality. It has a certain vibrancy about it and, depending on the shade, it’s hard to ignore.
There is however a shade of green that has been specifically designed to be ignored.
Go Away Green was created by Disney to camouflage things they don’t want their theme park visitors to see, such as backstage buildings and construction areas.
The greens associated with St Patrick’s Day, meanwhile, demand attention. They are rich and punchy – the colour of shamrocks, apples and verdant hills.
And it’s these greens that can be most flattering, unlike the trickier paler or yellowy greens that can make even the most beautiful complexion look washed out or even weird.
In spring we see a lot of green, partly because it’s the season of new growth and also because of St Patrick’s Day on March 17, marked in more countries than any other national festival.
The first St Patrick’s Day parade in Ireland was held in Waterford in 1903 and there are events in Switzerland and South Korea and everywhere in between.
St Patrick’s Day has even been celebrated on the International Space Station.
In 2011 Irish-American Catherine Coleman played a 100-year-old flute and a tin whistle belonging to members of the Irish group The Chieftains while on the ISS, and in 2013 astronaut Chris Hadfield took photographs of Ireland from Earth’s orbit and made a recording of Danny Boy.
The New York City Saint Patrick’s Day Parade lays claim to being the oldest and largest St Paddy’s gig in the world, dating back to 1762.
It will return this month after two years of covid-related disruptions in a very visible sign that life is gradually returning to normal.
