where to go on St Patricks day

The Shamrock is such a recognized symbol of the Irish, that the Irish government has even trademarked it! And is such a staple of St. Patrick's Day party decorations that everyone recognizes it. But what do you know the history of the Shamrock and how it became that symbol, and how to use it in your decorating plans?

In the 1700's the shamrock, (seamrog in Irish), was worn on lapels on Saint's feast day, with its 3 leaves symbolizing the trilogy of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Later it was adopted as the symbol of the "Irish Volunteers" in the 1770's Grattan's parliament. The symbol became such an irritant to the English that Queen Victoria forbade the Irish Regiments to wear it. And of course, to forbid something usually generates a stronger desire for it, and this was the case for the shamrock. The Irish saw it as an act of defiance to the English to wear a shamrock proudly.

It was the three leaves of the shamrock that helped it become associated with the good and lucky things about the Irish. Seems it's an Irish belief that good things come in groups of three. Number symbolism was an important part of Celtic beliefs, and 3 is a magical and sacred number, again, the association is the tree leaves of the shamrock. Even Irish story telling uses a rhythm of 3-fold repetition. And the Irish love groupings of three, like: Faith, Hope, and Charity, or Love, Valor, and Wit, and of course, as mentioned, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The Irish consideration that everything good comes in threes gave the shamrock its patina of goodness and luck.

The shamrock gets one of its connections to St. Patrick's Day from the story that St. Patrick used the shamrock in the 5th century to illustrate the doctrine of the Holy Trinity as he introduced Christianity to Ireland.

These combined factors, the Celtic religious connotations, the symbolic use by the Irish themselves, and the story of Saint Patrick's use of the shamrock, all led to world wide recognition of the shamrock as an Irish symbol.