I hope you all have had a pleasant St. Patrick's Day whether you are really Irish or only a little Irish like me. My west coast brother suggested that today I should go looking for shamrocks and four leaf clovers. That got me wondering if there is a difference.
There is indeed a difference. A shamrock is a three-leaf clover and is used as a symbol of Ireland and Saint Patrick. The name comes from the Irish word seamrog which means little clover. The three leaves represent the Holy Trinity.
When I was very young our yard had lots of clover growing in it and we would search sometimes to see who could be the first to find a four-leaf clover. Everyone knows that four-leaf clovers are lucky. I did not know until this evening that only one in 5000 clovers possess the extra leaf. No wonder our searching took a while. The four leaves are said to represent faith, hope, love and prosperity.
Unless of course you grew up in the country like I did and belonged to a 4-H club. The 4-H symbol is a four leaf clover with an H on each leaf. The H's stand for Head, Heart, Hands and Health.
None of which has anything to do with Saint Patrick's Day but it has been fun to remember.
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