Centuries of Irish oppression at home and trouble for new immigrants abroad prompted the writing of many songs and ballads intended to keep up morale and political defiance, as seen in this ballad sheet titled “The Wearing of the Green.” The traditional “wearing of the green” persisted into the twenty-first century, though the meaning has been muddled and many people wear green to avoid another tradition—a friendly pinch from a fellow parade-goer for those who fail to wear any green.