Now that the hustle and bustle of one of our favorite holidays, Valentine’s Day, is over, it’s time to look towards the future and start celebrating the next big observance that’s to come – St. Patrick’s Day! The one day of the year where just about everyone experiences what it means to be Irish. And even if you aren’t actually Irish at heart, we’re sure that you’re at least familiar with some of the symbols most commonly associated with the holiday, including four leaf clovers.
Speaking of these lucky charms, what do you know about them, besides what they look like? Before you go crazy digging out all of your green clothes and St. Patrick’s Day accessories, learn some facts about four leaf clovers by taking a look below:
1. The leaves on four leaf clovers are said to stand for faith, love, hope and luck.
2. Four leaf clovers are extremely rare – for every one, there are approximately 10,000 three leaf clovers!
3. In Ireland’s early stages, the Druids, or Celtic priests, thought that four leaf clovers had the power to protect them from bad luck.
4. In the Middle Ages, young children believed that if they had a four leaf clover in their possession, they would be able to see fairies.
5. Although there are no clover plants that naturally produce four leaves, when four leaf clovers do grow, they are a result of a mutation in the white clover plant.
6. The phrase “the luck of the Irish” is a result of the belief that the majority of four leaf clovers can be found in Ireland.
7. If you find a four leaf clover and pass it along to someone new, your luck may just double.
8. The environment a clover plant is in may contribute to your chances of finding a four leaf clover. If the plant is exposed to certain chemicals, it could increase the likelihood that a mutation will occur and produce a clover with four leaves.
9. In 1620, Sir John Melton was the first to reference luck in regards to four leaf clovers in a literary work.
10. The fourth leaf on a four leaf clover may appear to be smaller and a different shade of green when compared to the other three.
Now that you know how common (or should we say rare) four leaf clovers are, what they mean, where they can be found and so much more, press your luck this St. Patrick’s Day and see how many of these fun facts you can rattle off to your friends from the top of your head! Do you think you’ll be able to remember them all?