Legend of the green shamrocks “St. Patrick’s Day”

[icymist]

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Sure and begorra, even the Emerald Isle is being taunted by commercialism. The luck of the Irish and shamrocks are being confused with the lucky four-leaf clover. It's not so much a bad thing, as it is a confusing thing. And if a leprechaun found out about it, it could be downright unlucky!

See for yourself.

Pick up a couple of St. Patrick's Day cards or look closely at some posters promoting the Saint's day and count whether there are three or four leafs on the clover. Look at some of the curios in gift shops and count the clovers on the stem. Check out signs for St. Patrick's Day and see if the clover is three or four leafed. You'll find that there is considerable confusion between the shamrock, a three-leaf clover, and the unusual but not rare four-leaf clover, reputed to bring good luck.

<snip>
But even before Patrick roamed the hills and dales of Erin, the Druids regarded the shamrock as a sacred plant. They believed the leaves formed a triad, or three, and three is a sacred and mystical number to the Druids. In Arabia, it's the shamrakh, in Iran, it is an emblem of Persian triads, and to all it is a sacred plant. Which might also be why Patrick chose to use it to convert the Celts to Christianity.

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