Yes, this Lutheran is wearing green today

My grandmother was born and raised in Downpatrick, County Down, where St. Patrick (as well as St. Columba and St. Brigid) are buried. I am descended from the Protestant leader of Wolfe Tone's rebellion in Ulster, Henry Joy McCracken, through his illegitimate daughter Maria. McCracken died on the gallows as a martyr to Irish freedom on July 17, 1798. So yeah. I may not be Catholic, but I'm wearing green today. That's not about religion. It's about the land of my ancestors, and it's about freedom.

The shamrock, on the other hand, is about religion. It derives its significance from its use by Saint Patrick as an illustration of the Holy Trinity. In this post-modern world, even advertisements for Beamish Irish Stout confuse the shamrock with the four-leaf clover. They are, however, two entirely different pieces of flora. "Luck o' the Irish" or not, four leaf clovers have no place in the celebration of St. Patrick's Day.

Here is an entry I did a few years ago on the life of Patrick- born Maewyn Succat in Scotland, kidnapped to Ireland where he lived as a slave, escaped, and then returned after being consecrated a bishop to convert the land of his captivity to Christianity. Interestingly, St. Columba- who, like Patrick, is buried in my ancestral home, Downpatrick- was an Irishman who brought Christianity to Scotland.