(WHTM) – The shamrock is an iconic symbol of St. Patrick’s Day and the Irish.

According to TIME, there is an Irish legend that Saint Patrick utilized the Shamrock to spread the Christian concept of the Holy Trinity (God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Ghost) while trying to convert nonbelievers.

The shamrock is often confused with the four-leaf clover, but shamrocks have just three leaves.

March 17 is known as St. Patrick’s Day because that is the believed date of death of Saint Patrick. On the saint’s feast day people would go to church and poor people looked for ways to dress up their outfits for the occasion. It became common practice to incorporate shamrocks that were growing on their land into their attire.

The treatise on Ireland’s native plants written in 1726 by Irish botanist and cleric Caleb Threlkeld wrote of the shamrock’s symbolism and importance: “This Plant is worn by the People in their Hats upon the 17. Day of March yearly, (which is called St. Patrick’s Day.) It being a Current Tradition, that by this Three Leafed Grass, he emblematically set forth to them the Mystery of the Holy Trinity.”

In the 18th century, Irish immigrants in America still celebrated the holiday, but they had no access to real clovers. Instead, they used the color green and images of shamrocks.

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According to History.com, the first parade for the holiday in the United States was held on March 17, 1601 in a Spanish colony located in what is now St. Augustine, Florida. In 1737 Irish soldiers serving the English in Boston were homesick and also held a parade.

There was another celebratory parade for the holiday in New York City in 1762, which was a result of the huge wave of Irish immigrants to the United States in the 19th century.

Hallmark decided to begin honoring the holiday in the 1920s and they chose a shamrock for their greeting card designs. Other companies started using the shamrock for their products and brands, including Aer Lingus, an Irish airline, that chose the shamrock for its logo. These commercialized uses helped to spread the association of shamrocks with St. Patrick’s Day.

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