Green carries several distinct, independently-documented associations depending on context: significance in Islamic tradition, a central role in Irish national identity, and — much more recently — its adoption as the international symbol of environmentalism.
Green holds particular significance in Islamic tradition, associated with paradise in the Quran, and appears prominently in the flags of many Muslim-majority countries.
Islamic
Green is closely tied to Irish national identity, historically associated with Irish nationalism and Catholic identity in contrast to orange, associated with Irish Protestant and unionist identity.
Irish · 18th century onward
Green became the internationally recognised colour of the environmental movement over the course of the 20th century, now used globally by environmental organisations regardless of local cultural tradition.
global · 20th century onward
The green of a scriptural image, the green of a national flag and the green of an environmental campaign have separate histories, and none explains the others. One is a line of text describing garments in paradise. One is half of a deliberately balanced design, in which green and orange stand for two communities and white for peace between them. One is a play on words made at a meeting in 1971. Treating them as expressions of a single underlying 'meaning of green' adds nothing to any of them. What they share is that each can be traced to a text, a date or a named person, which is what makes them documentable. 1, 2, 3
Each row applies only to the tradition, place and period named in it, on the authority named in it.
| Tradition | Where | When | According to | What is recorded | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Islamic scripture | The text of the Qur'an | as translated in The Clear Quran | Qur'an 18:31, translation by Mustafa Khattab | Those rewarded with the Gardens of Eternity are described as adorned with bracelets of gold and wearing green garments of fine silk and rich brocade. This is what one verse says in one translation, and it does not itself describe any community's use of green. | 1 |
| Irish national flag | Waterford, then the Irish state | 7 March 1848; adopted 1922; confirmed 1937 | Department of the Taoiseach | The tricolour is officially said to symbolise the inclusion of, and the hope for unity between, people of different traditions on the island. Its designer explained the white centre as a lasting truce between Orange and Green. | 2 |
| A Protestant politico-religious society | Belfast | founded 1795 | Online Etymology Dictionary | The opposing colour in that pairing dates from a society named for William of Orange. Its members were called Orangemen from 1796, and the Irish flag later acquired its orange band from the same association. | 4 |
| Roman Catholic liturgy (Roman Rite) | As stated in the United States edition | current | General Instruction of the Roman Missal, no. 346 | Green is used in the Offices and Masses of Ordinary Time, the part of the year that falls outside Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter. | 5 |
| Women's Social and Political Union | United Kingdom | 1908 | London Museum | In the suffragette scheme green was explained by its designer as the colour of hope and the emblem of spring. | 6 |
| Greenpeace | Vancouver, Canada | 1971 | Greenpeace's own history | The name joined 'green' to 'peace' in a single word when the two would not fit on a fundraising badge. The group's first voyage, against a nuclear test, left on 15 September that year. | 3 |
Generalisation: Green is the colour of Islam.
Evidence: The verified part is narrow: a Qur'anic verse describes green garments in paradise. How that image has been taken up on flags, buildings and dress varies by country and period and needs evidence of its own, which this section does not supply. Green is also not exclusive to one faith. It is the vestment colour of Ordinary Time in the Catholic year, and it has been a political colour in Ireland and an emblem of hope for British suffragettes. 1, 5, 6
Every claim above is scoped by the specific culture, region and/or period it applies to — none of these associations are presented as universal. See pigment and dye history for more.