<P> Christians may also attend church services, and the Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol are lifted for the day . Perhaps because of this, drinking alcohol--particularly Irish whiskey, beer, or cider--has become an integral part of the celebrations . The St Patrick's Day custom of "drowning the shamrock" or "wetting the shamrock" was historically popular, especially in Ireland . At the end of the celebrations, a shamrock is put into the bottom of a cup, which is then filled with whiskey, beer, or cider . It is then drunk as a toast to St Patrick, Ireland, or those present . The shamrock would either be swallowed with the drink or taken out and tossed over the shoulder for good luck . </P> <P> On St Patrick's Day, it is customary to wear shamrocks, green clothing or green accessories . St Patrick is said to have used the shamrock, a three - leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish . This story first appears in writing in 1726, though it may be older . In pagan Ireland, three was a significant number and the Irish had many triple deities, a fact that may have aided St Patrick in his evangelisation efforts . Patricia Monaghan says there is no evidence that the shamrock was sacred to the pagan Irish . However, Jack Santino speculates that it may have represented the regenerative powers of nature, and was recast in a Christian context‍--‌ icons of St Patrick often depict the saint "with a cross in one hand and a sprig of shamrocks in the other". Roger Homan writes, "We can perhaps see St Patrick drawing upon the visual concept of the triskele when he uses the shamrock to explain the Trinity". </P> <P> The first association of the colour green with Ireland is from the 11th century pseudo-historical book Lebor Gabála Érenn (The Book of the Taking of Ireland), which forms part of the Mythological Cycle in Irish Mythology and describes the story of Goídel Glas who is credited as the eponymous ancestor of the Gaels and creator of the Goidelic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Manx). In the story Goídel Glas, who was the son of Scota and Niul, was bitten by a snake and was saved from death by Moses placing his staff on the snakebite . As a reminder of the incident he would retain a green mark that would stay with him and he would lead his people to a land that would be free of snakes . This is emphasized in his name Goídel which was anglicised to the word Gaelic and Glas which is the Irish word for green . Another story from the Lebor Gabála Érenn written after the adventures of Goídel Glas refers to Íth climbing the tower (in reference to the Tower of Hercules) his father Breogán builds in Brigantia (modern day Corunna in Galicia, Spain) on a winters day and is so captivated by the sight of a beautiful green island in the distance that he must set sail immediately . This story also introduces three national personifications of Ireland, Banba, Fódla and Ériu . The colour green was further associated with Ireland from the 1640s, when the green harp flag was used by the Irish Catholic Confederation . Green ribbons and shamrocks have been worn on St Patrick's Day since at least the 1680s . The Friendly Brothers of St Patrick, an Irish fraternity founded in about 1750, adopted green as its colour . However, when the Order of St. Patrick--an Anglo - Irish chivalric order--was founded in 1783 it adopted blue as its colour, which led to blue being associated with St Patrick . During the 1790s, green would become associated with Irish nationalism, due to its use by the United Irishmen . This was a republican organisation--led mostly by Protestants but with many Catholic members--who launched a rebellion in 1798 against British rule . The phrase "wearing of the green" comes from a song of the same name, which laments United Irishmen supporters being persecuted for wearing green . The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries have seen the re-emergence of Irish cultural symbols, such as the Irish Language, Irish mythology, and the colour green, through the Gaelic Revival and the Irish Literary Revival which served to stir Irish nationalist sentiment . The influence of green was more prominently observable in the flags of the 1916 Easter Rising such as the Sunburst Flag, the Starry Plough Banner, and the Proclamation Flag of the Irish Republic which was flown over the General Post Office, Dublin together with the Irish Tricolour . Throughout these centuries, the colour green and its association with St Patrick's Day grew . </P> <P> The wearing of the' St Patrick's Day Cross' was also a popular custom in Ireland until the early 20th century . These were a Celtic Christian cross made of paper that was "covered with silk or ribbon of different colours, and a bunch or rosette of green silk in the centre". "In 1681, the English traveller, Thomas Dineley noted a series of St Patrick's Day practices which in one form or another, became standard markers for those celebrating the day . Dineley observed that the Irish wore Celtic crosses, had green ribbon in their hats, pinned shamrock to their clothes, and, after demanding St Patrick's groat from their masters, drank so that' very few of the zealous are found sober at night'...The crosses, which were predominantly made and worn by children, consisted of a paper or card backing and featuring couloured ribbons as decoration, all of which were centered around a Celtic cross . In 1895, the' little girl's St Patrick's Day Cross' was described as a cross of paper' wrapped or covered with silk or ribbon of different colours, and a bunch or rosette of green silk in the centre' ." </ ref> </P>

When did green become the color of ireland
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