St. Patricks Day Facts & Folly Part 2
Still thristy for facts and folly? Here are a few more found.
The Shillelagh
You have seen them in movies or pictures with the Irish walking down the winding roads with these in their hands. These are the “Shillelagh’s", or commonly known as the Irish walking stick. These are known to the Irish as being made of oak. The literal definition of the Shillelagh is “oak club".
The Shamrock
The shamrock closely resembles the four leaf clover in the way in which the leaves are grown. There are only three leaves to this plant. The Shamrock is commonly known as the symbol of Ireland.
March 17th is said to be the day of St. Patrick’s death.
St.Patrick was a missionary who converted the people in Ireland to Christianity. The people proclaimed that they did not have a full understanding of the Trinity. St. Patrick leaning over plucking a shamrock from the glade presented it to the people explaining the Trinity as “The Father", “The Son” and the “holy Ghost” with the leaves as each part of the trinity. It has from that day forward the symbol that is held most highest in Ireland.
Leprechauns
Always after me Lucky Charms is the one of the first expressions that comes to mind in thinking about these little fellows. The thought of Lucky, the cute and zany little guy bouncing through flowers and well, cereal. What a sweet picture. That isn’t really the case of Leprechauns. Let’s explore the folklore of the Leprechauns.
Legend & Folklore
Leprechauns are solitary creatures. Often times they are ugly, small in stature, with broad bulky faces. Imagine a small boy of 10-11 years old, and that is about as tall as they get. Their faces are dry looking and wrinkling (much like a prune or dried apple). Their eyes though are bright and shiny with a look of mischief glinting in them. They are always up to something. They move rapidly and with grace, much to the surprise of those that actually come across one. Thinking that since they look the way they do they would be slow and easily caught, not the case!
Like said earlier, they are loners. They tend to stay away from men and even their own tribes. Leprechauns love to make shoes, so this is how they wile away their days and nights. Many of these little chaps carry a shoe and hammer with them at all times.
The leprechaun most certainly is one of the richest creatures due to they are in charge of guarding the ancient treasure left by the Danes. They bury this treasure in pots which resemble little cauldrons. This is one of the many reasons they stay away from humans. In fear they will loose this treasure. If caught by a human he must relinquish this great wealth if he is promised his freedom in return. But don’t let this fool you , they hold the cards and always will have a loop hole in keeping their treasure. You just can not out smart them. If caught by a human the lore goes on to tell, that the leprechaun carries two pouches, one with a silver shilling, a magical coin that returns to his pouch each time it is given out. The other pouch carries a gold coin, in which he tries to use as bribing his way out of these trickery times when caught. Now, once this coin is taken by the human or even another leprechaun it will turn to ash or leaves once he has given it away.
A word to the wise. NEVER let him out of your sight. They can vanish as quick as the wind. Now you see them, now you don’t!
There are in fact two different groups of leprechaun families. The first group being the Leprechaun which I have given you a little detail on and the second family group are the “Cluricauns. These Cluricauns are really more mischievous than Leprechauns. These are the group that will come into your home when it is dark and steal or “borrow” anything they want. They create havoc and chaos in homes during the night. They especially like to raid your wine cellars and larders. They harness up sheep and other farm animals and ride them all over the countryside at night. They have been spotted with chickens pulling their wagons!
The Leprechaun has been well known as Ireland’s national fairy. This title was used mainly in the North Leinster area of Ireland.
So the next time you are gazing at that rainbow, or happen upon a little shoe cobbler, think twice about capturing him. You might not get the riches you wanted. Only getting more than you can handle.
One last note: There are only male leprechauns. There are no recorded female leprechauns!
From all of us at Mystic Witch
May you be in heaven half hour before
The devil knows you are dead
–Old Irish Proverb–