The Official Rules For Wearing Green This St. Paddy’s Day

Some of us love St. Patrick's Day. For one day we all become Irish, drinking green beer and corned beef.

Then there are the rest of us, who stress over wearing green that day to save ourselves from getting pinched. My pinching fear stems from when I was in middle school. I thought I would out smart my classmates. I have green eyes, so to me that meant I didn't need to actually wear green clothing since I wore it every day of my life. Needless to say, this did not fly with mean middle school kids. Yes, I was pinched a lot that day. From that day forward, every St. Patrick's Day I made sure that I was sporting as much green as humanly possible on my body.

As a parent, I've projected that fear onto my own kids by making sure they dressed in green as to avoid their mom's fate.

And then I started thinking, "Why do we wear green on St. Patrick's Day? Are there any official wearing green rules?"

I turned to trusty Google for answers.

Here is what I found ...

This pinching business started in America.It's totally an American tradition that probably started in the 1700s. St. Patrick’s revelers thought wearing green made one invisible to leprechauns, fairy creatures who would pinch anyone they could see (anyone not wearing green). People began pinching those who didn’t wear green as a reminder that leprechauns would sneak up and pinch green-abstainers.

Rules for wearing green on St. Patrick's Day:

• There aren't any official rules. Lots of advice, but no official green wearing rules to live by on St. Paddy's Day.
• Most of the advice suggested that you should be wearing something green -- shirt, pants, shoes, tie or socks. The more green the better.
• Things like jewelry, hair, green eyes, paint, makeup or anything green pinned to you are questionable. So if you try to pass off one of those as your green item, you assume the risk of getting pinched.
• And don't even consider your underwear or bra. Yeah, it might be fun for the guy or girl that you're trying to flirt with, but not the rest of us.
• Keep in mind that not everyone HAS to wear green. Don't even think of pinching a co-worker! #metoo Keep your lobster claws to yourself!

You can still have fun and be respectful on St.Patrick's Day.