🍀Rolling in the Clover☘️

By Dori Duff

A three leaf clover is a shamrock, a four leaf clover is, well, a four leaf clover 🍀 and NOT a shamrock ☘️

Shamrock, Pixabay

The shamrock is an emblem of Ireland and a symbol for St. Patrick, who purportedly used a shamrock to explain the Christian concept of the Holy Trinity — in that three, in fact, can be one. The shamrock, not to be confused with the four, five, or six leaf clover, is commonly used on St. Patrick’s Day and is associated with Irish culture.

 

Four Leaf Clover, Pixabay

The three leaves of a shamrock, while may have been used to explain the Holy Trinity of Christianity, are said to represent faith, hope, and love, in that order. The fourth leaf on a clover represents luck, a fifth leaf can represent wealth, and a coveted six leaf clover can bring the owner longevity. The odds of finding a four leaf clover, on a first try, is one in ten thousand, and the odds of similarly finding a five leaf clover jumps to one in one million.

 

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, legend has it that the four leaf clover is lucky in that it would enable the carrier to “see fairies, recognize witches and evil spirits, and be protected from the evil eye. Even dreaming of clover was supposed to bring good luck.”

Due to a large variety of clover plants, there is some debate among botanists and lay-people about which plant of the genus Trifolium (“having three leaves”) is the ‘real’ clover plant. Most will agree that the White Clover is probably the original shamrock of Irish tradition. White Clover (Trifolium repens) was not always viewed as a challenging weed – in fact, until the mid-twentieth century, White Clover was included in lawn seed mixes as low maintenance, attractive ground cover.  Recently, White Clover seems to be experiencing a resurgence as a more ecologically friendly lawn alternative.

And given that my yard is covered in White Clover, well, I seem to be in luck🍀

Irish folklore nonfiction titles in our catalog:

Irish Blessings: With Legends, Poems & Greetings
398.209 IRI

Irish Popular Superstitions by Sir William R. Wilde
398.2 WIL

Ancient Irish Tales by Tom Peete Cross and Clark Harris Slover
891.623 ANC

And in Hoopla:

Irish Stories and Folklore by Stephen Brennan

Resources on clover and statistics:
Minitab Blog
Old Farmer’s Almanac
Six Leaf Clover Find
Tenon Tours