Ouch! Why'd My So. Utah Pal Pinch Me?

Pinching someone for not wearing green on St. Patrick's Day is a tradition I can remember from when I was a kid back in the 1970s.

That's why I always wear green on Mar. 17th.

Today, on St. Patrick's Day, we celebrate all things Irish and a lot of us wear green while doing so. But why?

There's a lot of lore regarding leprechauns - a mythical creature said to go around pinching people not wearing green.

There's also a belief that wearing green on St. Patrick's Day is rooted in the color having become a symbol of Irish identity and resistance against British rule in the 1700s.

Meanwhile, they're having parades in New York, Boston and Chicago -- a city that really goes all out and dyes the river that runs through the city a bright green color.

And in the White House, they are celebrating St. Patrick's Day by turning the North Lawn fountain green.

The fountain could be seen with its bright emerald green water on Monday.

The tradition began in 2009 by the Obamas. Then-First Lady Michelle Obama was inspired by her home city Chicago, which dyes the Chicago River green every year.

President Trump carried on the tradition during his first term.

The original "color" of St. Patrick's Day was not green, but a pale shade of blue.

The color started to shift to green during the late 1700s when politicos started a movement to overthrow British rule on the Emerald Isle.

A ballad called "The Wearing of the Green," came out of the movement (although politically it failed), and green really started to catch on.

According to History.com, the fable about leprechauns coming and pinching you if you fail to don green clothing on the big day is 100 percent myth, and probably a myth that started in the United States and has nothing to do with the actual country of Ireland.

That being said, I'm still going to wear green every Mar. 17th. You know, just in case.