St. Patrick’s Day has a universal symbol; the shamrock. What is it exactly? Well, most people can recognize or recreate one if needed.
But how many people really know what the shamrock is and why it is such an important symbol?
My guess is, not many of us. Therefore, before St. Patrick’s Day pops up, I thought I’d give everyone the chance to learn the facts of this little, green plant.
For starters, most of us probably have no idea that the shamrock belongs to the division of plant life known as Magnoliophyta. For more information on this, see Botany/Magnoliophyta. These plants are flowering types or angiosperms. Angiosperms are plants which have seeds inside the ovary of the plant. The opposite are gymnosperms where seeds are not enclosed in an ovary.
Try this 10-karat gold shamrock pendant to use for your display this holiday. Impress others about all that you know about this classic, Irish symbol by wearing it.
Almost all plant life that is commonly encountered is of this above variety. The shamrock in particular, is a green plant that customarily has three heart-shaped leaves projecting from it’s center. Some shamrocks have four leafs. The adage to “find luck from a four-leaf clover” comes from the rarity of encountering one.
My bet is you are more likely to run across three-leaf clovers. Therefore, it makes perfect sense why St. Patrick utilized this plant. It’s most common three leaves were an easy reference for showing others what the Holy Trinity meant. He would explain that the Trinity consisted of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. If St. Patrick ever found a four-leaf variety, he probably considered it an added bonus or stroke of luck.
From this, magic inspired others to write and embellish about the rarely found four-leaf clover. In this next poem an American poet, Ella Higginson, wrote about where to find one.
Four-Leaf Clover
I know a place where the sun is like gold,
And the cherry blooms burst with snow,
And down underneath is the loveliest nook,
Where the four-leaf clovers grow.One leaf is for hope, and one is for faith,
And one is for love, you know,
And God put another in for luck-
If you search, you will find where they grow.But you must have hope, and you must have faith,
You must love and be strong-and so-
If you work, if you wait, you will find the place
Where the four-leaf clovers grow.
This St. Patrick’s Day, find yourself a fresh clover and let the one you find decide your fate.
