Shamrock or Four Leaf Clover, What’s the Difference?

With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner I was thinking about how often around this time I see shamrock this or four leaf clover that and that got me wondering if they are the same.

Shamrocks and four leaf clovers are used interchangeably it seems except one is lucky and one belongs in a shake but are their more differences than just that?

According to TenonTours, “The word shamrock comes from the Gaelic word Seamrog, meaning ‘“little clover”’. A clover is the commonly used name for any number of plants belonging to the genus Trifolium, meaning having three leaves.”

Each leaf has its own symbolic meaning standing for faith, love, and hope. The fourth leaf is where all the luck comes from, hence, “four leaf clover.”

So this week if you see someone with a St. Paddy’s shirt enticing you to kiss them, first of all, don’t, but secondly make sure it is a shamrock and not a four leaf clover because that would be incorrect to the Irish heritage!