by Gemma Wiseman

Created on: March 14, 2009   Last Updated: March 15, 2009

Since the 5th century A.D., St Patrick's Day on 17th March has celebrated the life and work of Ireland's patron saint. But by the 1990's, when the Irish government decided this day was a good opportunity to showcase Irish culture, a variety of superstitions (representing the icons of Irish folklore) have also been celebrated. Now the spirit of St Patrick's Day is captured by dressing in green, wearing a shamrock, enjoying the mystique of the leprechaun and remembering the romantic legend of the Blarney Stone.

To wear green on St Patrick's Day is to charm a little good luck your way. Many sources suggest that this superstition was meant for children. If you don't wear green, you risk a playful pinch as punishment.

Keeping to the green theme, the shamrock, (actually a mythical plant connected with clover) should be worn. According to legend, in the 5th Saint Patrick used a shamrock to illustrate his Christian message to the Irish. The three leaves of the shamrock were Nature's proof of the Holy Trinity. Wearing a shamrock enhances good luck, especially on St Patrick's Day.

These two green elements are closely associated with superstitions unique to St Patrick's Day. A lesser known superstition involves sweet peas. If planted before sunrise on St Patrick's Day, they will grow well and have more fragrance. Another little known superstition is if you can cross the ice on St Patrick's Day, it's a sign of prosperous times. This particular belief would relate to the northern hemisphere worlds moving from winter to spring, so tends to be like an entree to celebrations of the vernal equinox on March 21.

Other superstitions involving leprechauns and the Blarney Stone have been introduced to St Patrick's Day. If St Patrick's Day is becoming Irish Day on a global scale, then other Irish superstitions do well to be celebrated on this day.

Leprechaun Day is actually celebrated later in the year on May 13, but the leprechaun is a feature of St Patrick's Day too. Little old cobbler of fairies' shoes, the leprechaun has long been the symbol of mischief in Irish folklore. (It is said he makes just one shoe not a pair.) Attempting to catch a leprechaun and claim his hidden pot of gold is always a fun idea. And if you feel wryly amused by such a superstition, beware leprechaun music. It bewitches anyone who hears it.

And then there is the Blarney Stone. Here is a pot-pourri of superstition, legend and religious stories. This stone is at Blarney Castle in Ireland. Some suggest that this

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