The Green Man is a figure associated with the Pyrotechnics Guild International (PGI). He appears on the Guild's emblem and was selected from John Bate's 1635 fireworks treatise The Second Booke,[1] to symbolize the long tradition of using fireworks as a part of festivals and celebrations - at that time led by so-called "Green Men" appointed to head processions with a "Fire Club" shooting sparks. They were called Green Men because they clothed themselves with fresh leaves to protect themselves from sparks produced by their hand-held fireworks. This gave rise to the traditional salutation "stay green" amongst those involved with fireworks.
References
edit- ^ Bate, John (1635). The Second Booke. London: Thomas Harper.