HOW TO AVOID GETTING PINCHED ON ST. PATRICK’S DAY

Remember when you were a kid and you had to wear green to school on St. Patrick’s Day to avoid being pinched? Surely, I’m not the only one who observed this painful tradition.

A quick Google search confirms that pinching those who don’t wear green on March 17 is a common practice. According to one website, “it’s an American tradition (dating back to) the 1700s. (It was thought that) if you wore green, it made you invisible to the Leprechauns, which was good because they would pinch anyone they could see. So the pinching is to warn and remind you about the Leprechauns.”

Not surprisingly, now that I’m adult, I don’t give a hoot about wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day. The main reasons for that are that I don’t have many articles of green clothing, and adults usually don’t run around pinching each other.

So how CAN you observe this great Irish holiday as an adult? Many folks like to grab a few green beers during happy hour. Others might prepare some corned beef and cabbage at home.

You might also consider adding watermelon to your green-holiday menu. Sure, it’s not green on the inside, but it’s very green on the outside. And as long as you’re eating something that has green on it, maybe the leprechauns (and your co-workers) won’t pinch you.