what is the color of st patrick day
St. Patrick's blue The Irish arms used by English monarchs since Edward IV had an azure field; originally the device was three crowns (now the arms of Munster) until Henry VIII changed it to a harp. This is still the arms of the modern Irish state, and also appears in the lower left quarter of the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom.[13] In Irish mythology, Flaitheas Ã‰ireann, the sovereignty of Ireland, was sometimes represented as a woman in a blue robe.[14] Although the arms of the province of Mide has a blue field, when its device was used as the arms of Ireland, the field was sable.[14] The Irish College in Paris, completed in 1776,[15] was renovated in 2002; the paint uncovered on the chapel walls was described as "St Patrick's blue" by a visiting journalist.[16] As regards green in association with Patrick: in 1681, Thomas Dineley reported people wearing crosses of green ribbon in their hats on Saint Patrick's Day.[17]
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Given the varied and even contradictory interpretations of the color green, its precise meaning in the poem remains ambiguous. In English folklore and literature, green was traditionally used to symbolise nature and its associated attributes: fertility and rebirth. Stories of the medieval period also used it to allude to love and the base desires of man.[33][34] Because of its connection with faeries and spirits in early English folklore, green also signified witchcraft, devilry and evil. It can also represent decay and toxicity.[35] When combined with gold, as with the Green Knight and the girdle, green was often seen as representing youth's passing.[36] In Celtic mythology, green was associated with misfortune and death, and therefore avoided in clothing.[37] The green girdle, originally worn for protection, became a symbol of shame and cowardice; it is finally adopted as a symbol of honour by the knights of Camelot, signifying a transformation from good to evil and back again; this displays both the spoiling and regenerative connotations of the color green.[37]