Shamrocks and Four-Leaf Clovers

St. Patrick’s Day is a few days before spring and celebrated today by wearing green, drinking green beer, and having parades with leprechauns, rainbows, and pots of gold. Leprechauns are fairies in Irish folklore, storing gold coins in pots of gold, hiding them at a rainbow’s end. Also an icon of St. Patrick’s Day is the shamrock.

While both are symbols of good luck, there is a difference between four- leaf clovers and shamrocks. The shamrock was introduced to represent the Trinity by St. Patrick, an Irish missionary, showing the three leaves united by a single stalk. It is more than a symbol of luck because of its connection to Irish history and religious significance. The four leaf clover was used as Celtic charms in 1620. Having four leaves, the 4-leaf clover is not a shamrock. So when showing pride of the Irish on St Patrick’s Day, choose three leaf shamrocks for the Irish symbol.

Looking for a little bit of luck? Then a 4-leaf clover found in the yard will supposedly do the trick. They appear in fields having 3-leaf clovers, estimated odds of discovering 4-leaf ones are 1 in 10,000. Irish folklore attributes finding a stem of clover having four leaves as a good luck omen. Some people think each leaf has a meaning; first is attributed to fame, second to wealth, third to love, and fourth to health.

Growing shamrocks has become popular today, both indoors and outdoors. They can be grown from seeds indoors using official Irish Dirt that can be ordered online or any good soil mix. Keep dirt moist and in a bright, warm location. It will take 6-8 weeks to fill out and then you can transplant. Growing shamrocks could be a fun project for your children in the spring.