St. Patrick's Day Shamrocks Bring Luck O' The Irish To Flowers
Wesley Berry, AAF
You probably recognize the shamrock as a symbol of St. Patrick's
Day, so why not add a bit of that Irish luck to your St.
Patrick's Day flowers? Believe it or not, many florists do keep
a
supply of shamrocks on hand to add to bouquets and arrangements
ordered for St. Patrick's Day. Well, at least they carry
something that passes for shamrocks... A closer look at the
shamrock and the legends surrounding it reveals that finding the
"true shamrock" requires more than just the luck brought by a
four-leaf clover.
The origin of the word "shamrock" is in the Irish word seamrog,
which means "little clover." While it's a lovely name, it's
not
particularly descriptive considering that there are numerous
kinds of clovers and even some plants that are recognized as
clovers by the general public, though botanically they are not.
Even the folks living in Ireland have some difficulty agreeing on
what a shamrock truly is. In a survey conducted by Tippitwitchet
Cottage at the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin, Dublin
showed that Irish believe the shamrock to be one of four plants:
* 46 percent believe it is the lesser trefoil, or hop clover;
* 35 percent say it's the white clover;
* 7 percent think it's the black medick (which isn't a clover
at all, merely a clover-like plant); and,
* 4 percent believe the shamrock is the red clover.
Why the division over what the shamrock really is? Well, that may
come from the legend of the shamrock itself. The story goes that
Saint Patrick used the shamrock as a visual aid to explaining the
Christian belief of the doctrine of the Trinity. Shamrocks have
three leaves united by one stalk, which Saint Patrick pointed out
during his lesson.
Now, you're probably scratching your head and thinking, "Three
leaves? What about the 'lucky four-leaf clover'?" Ah, that's
where things become even more confusing. Technically speaking, a
four-leaf clover cannot be a shamrock because of the very fact
that it has four leaves and doesn't conform to the definition
originated in the Saint Patrick legend. The idea of the lucky
four-leaf clover actually originates not through Christian
tradition, but through Pagan beliefs. Ancient Druids were said to
have propagated this belief because they held the four-leaf
clover as a Celtic charm against malevolent spirits.
Three leaf, four leaf, shamrock, clover-whatever the case may be,
shamrocks or what passes for them make a beautiful addition to
any St. Patrick's Day flower arrangement or bouquet. So,
remember
to ask your florist to add the luck o' the Irish to your St.
Patrick's Day flowers!
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Wesley Berry is member of the American Academy of Floriculture
(AAF) and President of Wesley Berry Flowers, a successful
multi-million dollar floral business that was established in
1946. As a major sponsor of http://www.local-library.com and
http://www.Localschoolfinder
on behalf of improving literacy. Visit Wesley Berry Flowers
on the web at http://www.800wesleys.com .
