[honeychile]

Some bits and pieces:

-I went to a wedding this summer with the groom and the bagpiper in kilts. The women in front of us were whispering how disgusting it was that the tartans didn't match! I wanted to smack the one particularly obnoxious one, and explain that one ONLY wears one's own tartan!! And at about $600 a kilt, there's good sense to that!

-One of my favorite professors wrote his name on the blackboard on the first day of class: Macleod. He then said, "Whomever can first tell me how to pronounce my name correctly will have their grade raised one letter up." Lots of hands went up, but I won: Mack-Cloud. Thank you, fellow Scotsmen!!

-The Scottish crests and tartans are of the very few nationalities which legitimately allows married women to keep their own tartan & crest. One can wear 5-6 tartans at the same time, if you have that many Scottish lineages. You can see that mix in both Rob Roy and Braveheart.

-The first time I went to a Clan Gathering, my mother & I were given pins which were our Clan insignia - emphasis that they were NOT our crests, but our Clan insignia. Our crest is on a dagger, about 4-5" long, and no, I cannot wear it on a plane! But the first time I wore it to church, my pastor (whose family is also Southern) said, "That's an interesting pin - what is it?" I proudly said, "That's my Clan insignia!" He looked hard at me and exclaimed, "You're in the Klan?!" We still laugh about that!

-Women do not wear kilts, men do. Women wear a badge of the tartan, or a sash. This is a good thing for women, as a well made kilt costs upward of $600!!

-If you'd like to see your tartan, just put "(Your Scots Surname)* tartan" in a search engine, and chances are, you'll find it! I only know about the sept (branch) and clan because of genealogy.

-People are not Scottish, they are Scots. Items they own are Scottish.