If You Are Lucky, You'll Find a Four-Leaf Clover

Source: siopa.com via Dana on Pinterest

Well, we haven't caught a leprechaun yet (see this post), but the traps are baited for the night and we'll see if we get lucky in the morning.  Speaking of good fortune, did you know that the phrase "Luck of the Irish" is not necessarily about good luck?  Apparently the phrase was intended to be ironic, because the history of the Irish people has been more unlucky then lucky (Potato Famine, conquests by the Danes and the English, and political and religious upheaval to name a few difficulties).  So be careful the next time you claim to have the "luck of the Irish" because it might come back to haunt you.  If you believe in such things, you have a better chance at luck if you can find a four-leaf clover.

With a foot of snow on the ground here in Wisconsin, it is unlikely that we'll find any clover, let alone a four-leaf variety, so we decided to green up the inside of our house with some shamrocks of our own making.  We went old-school, with some fan-folded paper and a design that stretched from one fold to the other.

It took some fast talking on my part, but I managed to convince the kids to limit their color palette to the green family. 

Then they decorated in whatever way they wanted.

I enjoy seeing their different personalities expressed, even in a simple project like decorating green shamrocks.

We've also read a little bit more about the history of St. Patrick's Day and we learned some interesting tidbits about shamrocks.  One interesting fact was that while many people these days wear green clothing on St. Patrick's Day, the "wearing o' the green" traditionally meant that you were wearing shamrocks in your lapel (and at times this was illegal) .  We also learned that while shamrocks are a symbol for all things Irish, they hold special significance on St. Patrick's Day because it is said that St. Paddy himself used the shamrock to teach the pagan Irish about the Trinity.  One leaf symbolized God the Father, one leaf stood for Jesus, and the third leaf was for the Holy Spirit.  Together the three leaves made one plant, just as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are united as One God.  The kids were fascinated by this idea, and it lead to a lovely spiritual discussion about missionaries and God and talking about Jesus.  I'd say that's the best kind of ending for any project ever!