St. Patrick's Day
Mar 17
Other Scottish Country Dances for this Day
Today's Musings, History & Folklore
"Though lowly its stem,
This emerald gem
Mates with the proudest that shadow the earth!"
~ St Patrick's Day: With an Irish Shamrock, Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna
Shamrocks are everywhere during this season, even in your pint of Guinness! The St Patrick's Day custom of "drowning the shamrock" or "wetting the shamrock" is still popular, especially in Ireland. A shamrock is put into the bottom of a cup, filled with whiskey, beer, or cider, then drunk as a toast to St Patrick, Ireland, and those present. The shamrock may either be swallowed with the drink or taken out and tossed over the shoulder for good luck.
The Shamrock Girl
Happy Saint Patrick's Season! For a more complete listing of dances suitable for St. Patrick's Day, visit the St. Patrick's Day Theme Page.
The shamrock, one of the symbols of Ireland and St. Patrick's Day, is word whose namecomes from Irish seamróg, which is the diminutive of the Irish word for clover (seamair) and means simply "little clover" or "young clover".
Shamrock usually refers to either the species Trifolium dubium (lesser clover, Irish: seamair bhuí) or Trifolium repens (white clover, Irish: seamair bhán). Saint Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, is said to have used the shamrock's three leaves as an illustrative metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity.
According to Nathaniel Colgan, the botanist and author of The Flora Of County Dublin in 1904, people even ate the shamrock in times of famine. And in the 19th century it became a symbol of rebellion against the English and began to be strongly associated with Irish identity. Apparently anyone wearing it risked death by hanging.
The St Patrick's Day custom of "drowning the shamrock" or "wetting the shamrock" is still popular, especially in Ireland. A shamrock is put into the bottom of a cup, filled with whiskey, beer, or cider, then drunk as a toast to St Patrick, Ireland, and those present. The shamrock may either be swallowed with the drink or taken out and tossed over the shoulder for good luck.
For the history of the wearing of the shamrock as a symbol of rebellion, click the shamrock girl below.
Click the dance cribs or description below to link to a printable version of the dance!
