Skip to main content

Shamrock Goodness

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Last year, I wrote about the history of beer to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Today, I decided to explore the history of the shamrock which is a symbol of symbol of Ireland and represents good luck. The word shamrock comes from the Gaelic word seamróg, meaning “little clover.” It generally represents a plant in the trifolium family, which is characterized by three leaves. 

The three-leafed shamrock holds special meaning to the Irish for many reasons, but most importantly because it was used by St. Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, to explain the Christian Holy Trinity of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit to peasants in the 5th century. The four-leaf clover is a genetic mutation and considered lucky because it is very rare (1 in 10,000)—the fourth leaf is said to represent God's grace, thereby bringing luck.

Besides its religious significance, the clover leaf was also well known for its medicinal properties in ancient times. The clover leaf is known to be full of proteins and can be made into a tea. While the shamrock is thought to represent the white clover, its close cousin, the red clover has even stronger medicinal properties. Clover leaves are a great source of the antioxidant, isoflavon, which helps prevent aging and reduces cholesterol. It can also be used a blood thinner to prevent heart attacks and stroke, and reduce arthritic pain. Tea made from clover blossoms was used widely in Native America as medicine to treat fevers and cough and colds. 

So may the luck of the Irish be with you today and always, and the Irish blessing: 

"For each petal on the shamrock, this brings a wish your way: 
Good health, Good luck, and Happiness, for today and every day.”


Sources:

https://www.wellingtonadvertiser.com/not-just-for-the-irish-shamrock-has-medicinal-uses/

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Origin of the Word "Cancer"

In my previous post, I explored the history of cancer. Since we know it existed in ancient times, it follows that so did its name. In fact, the name "cancer" was coined by none other than the great Hippocrates (well, not the exact name but the root of the name). Hippocrates in fact, used two terms,  carcinoma and carcinos,  to describe ulcerous and non-ulcerous tumors respectively. He named the tumors after Carcinus (or Karkinos), a giant crab in Greek mythology that was sent by the Goddess Hera to help Hydra fight against Hercules. As to why Hippocrates chose to name the tumor after a crab is not quite clear but there are several theories:       -  The hardness of a malignant tumor reminded him of the hard shell of a crab.      - The pain induced by a malignant tumor is similar to a sharp pinch of a crab's claw.     -  The tenacity of cancer is similar to the determination with which a crab bites and grabs on to a person.  While all these theories seem plausible, the

Hippocrates: Father of Medicine

Another important person in Greek medicine is Hippocrates. Hippocrates is considered the father of modern medicine who continues to influence medicine more than 2000 years later. Although he is as revered as Asclepius, they have very different origins. While Asclepius is a mythological character, considered to be descended from God, Hippocrates is very much a historical figure, whose origin and life is recorded in history. Hippocrates lived from 460 to 375 BCE during the Classical Greece period and practiced medicine in Greece. His contribution to western medicine is rivaled by none other, and his collection of works covers almost every aspect of disease and medicine including infection, hygiene, epidemiology and the human immune system. Bust of Hippocrates Also, unlike Asclepius, Hippocrates practiced medicine as a science, not as divine magic. He was one of the first to separate religion from medicine, and sought to match treatment with symptoms.  His observations in the Corp

Meditrinalia: Festival of Health (AKA Wine!)

Happy Meditrinalia! Those who are legally allowed to, raise a glass of your favorite wine in cheer- the goddess of health is smiling upon you today! Meditrinalia is an ancient Roman festival that was celebrated on October 11 in honor of the goddess of medicine, Meditrina. According to legend, the festival marked the end of the vine harvest, and people of Latium began to taste their new wine on this day. Although it was first celebrated in honor of Jupiter, it soon gave rise to a new goddess of  healing/medicine, Meditrina, on whom the festival is now named.  The Romans made an offering of wine to the gods on this occasion while reciting   " vetus novum vinum bibo, novo veteri morbo medeor."   which translates to  ''Wine new and old I drink, of illness new and old I'm cured."  The new wine was thought to hold healing powers. Given that we now know wine is rich in antioxidants, and it can help reduce cholesterol and heart disease, the ancient Romans sure were o