Oxalis
The lucky plant is called Oxalis. The four-leaf clover is sold with or without a planter. According to tradition, you can increase your luck by decorating the planters with figures of pigs, fly agaric mushrooms or chimney sweeps, or optimally: a combination of all these figures. In their own way, the figures symbolise luck and fortune. The pig is said to convey wealth and prosperity while the meaning of the fly agaric is more diffuse but probably has to do with the mushroom’s slightly euphoriant effect and the associated feeling of happiness. The chimney sweep as a symbol is a remnant of the times when the household revolved around the function of the stove and it caused great problems if the chimney was blocked.
- The combination of Oxalis and figures comes in many varieties. Sometimes the figures are made of pottery and sometimes of plastic. The figures are also often put on sticks prickled into the plant, says Jens Hermansen, GASA Marketing.
The tradition of presenting a lucky Oxalis is mainly a German phenomenon, but at GASA we see that other countries have also embraced this tradition – though mainly focusing on the plant’s auspicious effect as a four-leaf clover and not so much in association with the figures.
The lucky four-leaf clover is mainly sold as mini pots in specialist and grocery stores. The size of the pot is less important. The symbolism is what matters when Germans place this product in their carts before paying New Year’s visits to family and friends.
The four-leaf Oxalis is also lucky by Danish standards. At any rate it has provided GASA with recurrent niche sales to our German neighbours. “We produce this article specially for the New Year and not at any other time of year. You might say we produce canned luck,” says Jens Hermansen.