Which Clan?

[Lyle1]

Personally, unless one has a "by blood" or "by adoption" connection to a specific clan I would advise against indiscriminately choosing a clan tartan merely on the basis of "Gee, that looks nice". Likewise, in total agreement with Jock, I would suggest that once you determine your Clan affiliation, you stick with it, to the exclusion of all others.

In the Bible it says, "You can not serve two masters and love them both" and in those places where the wearing of tartan has meaning, wearing more than one clan tartan definitely sends the same message.

I understand the sentiment, but I suppose it really depends on what being affiliated with a clan means to you. Being American bred and reared, I don't personally feel that I "belong" to any clan. I have blood ties to well over a dozen clans, and I might sort it all out if I lived in Scotland, but I am an American, not a Scot. Since I am not ruled by a clan or its chief, the subject of clan affiliation has little relevance to me.

I feel an emotional attachment the the Clan Stewart, because of my paternal grandfather, who was born in Scotland, and with whom I was quite close as a child. If I were to wear a tartan associated with the clan of my mother's surname, it would be to honor the memory of my mother, not to honor one clan over another.

I do not feel beholden to or feel that I serve any clan, nor do I feel obliged to limit my sentimental attachment to any clan to which my ancestors belonged. The Scottish culture is part of my heritage, and I will revel in it, but I will not be ruled by it, any more than I would be ruled by or forsake the cultures of any of the more than a dozen other nationalities of my ancestors in order to honor only one!

It is not all about rules for me. It is, rather, about including something in my life that I like and that has some meaning for me, and to do that I am the only person who has to be happy with my choices.