Did you know the color originally associated with St. Patrick was blue? The saint was said to have used the three-leaved shamrock, a green-colored clover, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish. Today, the symbol and its color have become ubiquitous features of the holiday, which is celebrated worldwide by the Irish and their diaspora ... plus anyone else looking for an excuse to consume copious amounts of alcohol, corned beef and cabbage.

Some famous landmarks have been "going green" for the holiday, including Las Vegas' famous welcome sign (above), the Chicago river, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Niagara Falls, the London Eye, the Empire State Building in New York and the Sydney Opera House in Australia, among others. This year, for the first time ever, the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx in Egypt even changed their hue to celebrate the holiday.

Check out more images of landmarks bathed in green for St. Patrick's Day after the jump.

Filed under: Europe, Ireland, United States