National Tartan Day

[honeychile]

You're probably not finished celebrating St. Patrick's Day, but for those of you who are Irish AND Scots, get ready to party again!

Seems that every April 6th is Tartan Day, and with over 11 million Scots in the United States, you may have missed out on a chance to pay homage to your Scottish ancestors in the past. From the Eogn newsletter:

"National Tartan Day
Saturday, March 13th, 2010
Announcements: Let’s make haggis!

April 6 will be the national holiday for all Scottish Americans. More than eleven million Americans claim Scottish and Scotch-Irish roots, making them the eighth largest ethnic group in the United States. From the framers of the Declaration of Independence to the first man on the moon, Scottish-Americans have contributed mightily to the fields of the arts, science, politics, law, and more. These are the people and accomplishments that are honored on National Tartan Day, April 6th.

"The picture [below] is of Sean Connery with members of the United States Air Force Reserve’s Pipe and Drum Band in Washington, DC. The occasion was Tartan Day, 2004....

"On March 9, 2005, the House of Representatives unanimously adopted House Resolution 41, which designates April 6th of each year as “National Tartan Day.” National Tartan Day was created to recognize the contributions that were made by Scottish-Americans to the development of the United States. April 6 was chosen as that date commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320, which asserted Scotland’s sovereignty over English territorial claims, and which was an influence on the American Declaration of Independence.

"Canada has been celebrating “National Tartan Day” since 1993.

"Because April 6 falls in mid-week (Tuesday), New York City will celebrate Tartan Day the following Saturday: April 10. Two thousand pipers and drummers will assemble for the 12th Annual New York Tartan Day Parade – New York’s biggest celebration for pipers, drummers, Scottish music and single malt whisky! The 2010 Grand Marshal will be Alex Fergusson, Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament.

"A post-parade party will be held at Stout NYC, 133 West 33rd Street, featuring popular live bands “Enter the Haggis” and “Barley Juice.”"

Read more about it at: Tartan Day. If my taxes are done (!), plan to see me at the Alexandria festivities!

[33girl]

If it's not Scottish it's crap!!!

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by honeychile

You're probably not finished celebrating St. Patrick's Day, but for those of you who are Irish AND Scots, get ready to party again!

(Ur fur those us fa ur Scots an' nae Irish. )

Hoot mon!

It's aye irked me jist a wee bit 'at Tartan Day is in Apryle, when it can be gettin' tay warm tae wear wool. (Thoogh nae nearly as hot as it can be in Julie fur th' Heelain Games.) But Ah gie that's it's th' anniversary ay th' Declaration ay Arbroath. Besides, there's aye St. Andrew's Day in November an' Burns Nicht in Januar.

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by 33girl

If it's not Scottish it's crap!!!

LOVE it!

I happen to have a thing for some Scots....Ewan McGregor, David Tennant, John Barrowman, Sean Connery....It's not the kilts that do it per se, but I thought it would be fun to post pics of them wearing their tartans!

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

(Ur fur those us fa ur Scots an' nae Irish. )

Hoot mon!

It's aye irked me jist a wee bit 'at Tartan Day is in Apryle, when it can be gettin' tay warm tae wear wool. (Thoogh nae nearly as hot as it can be in Julie fur th' Heelain Games.) But Ah gie that's it's th' anniversary ay th' Declaration ay Arbroath. Besides, there's aye St. Andrew's Day in November an' Burns Nicht in Januar.

LOL. It took me a good minute to decipher this.

[ms_gwyn]

I need to find one of these....cause both Scots and Irish men do it for me....BIG TIME

[carnation]

Yay! Time to break out my kilt! I love my clan plaid, it's blue and gray and red.

[honeychile]

I wear my clan insignia several days a week, but I'm going the next step and getting the sash. The people I've talked to always discourage women from wearing a kilt.

On a happier note, one of the parts that I've admired about the wearing of the plaid is that a woman can wear either her tartan or her husband's tartan.

And why oh why don't more men realize how sexy a man in a kilt truly is?!

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by honeychile

I wear my clan insignia several days a week, but I'm going the next step and getting the sash. The people I've talked to always discourage women from wearing a kilt.

That's because if you're talking Scottish, a kilt is men's clothing. Women and girls wear tartan/kilted skirts, Aboyne skirts or the like. Often they look a lot like kilts, but a kilt proper is male attire.

And why oh why don't more men realize how sexy a man in a kilt truly is?!

[ForeverRoses]

At the St. Patrick's Day parade I was handed a card noting the highland festival that is going to be in Indianapolis in April (not sure if it is on Tartan day or not). Anyway, the festival is taking place at the Latvian Society.

I had to laugh that while I was attending an Irish parade, I was invited to a Scottish celebration held at the Latvian society hall. Talk about an American stew!

and one last thing- my son's first communion is coming up and I am letting him pick out his own tie to wear. He wants to wear a plaid one "like Opa wears" (my Dad). My dad's tie is our clan's plaid. But I didn't know all the rules- can my son wear the plaid from my Dad's family? (obviously he can no matter what, but I didn't know the offical rules)

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by ForeverRoses

and one last thing- my son's first communion is coming up and I am letting him pick out his own tie to wear. He wants to wear a plaid one "like Opa wears" (my Dad). My dad's tie is our clan's plaid. But I didn't know all the rules- can my son wear the plaid from my Dad's family? (obviously he can no matter what, but I didn't know the offical rules)

Technically, there are no official rules -- it's more etiquette and "how things are done" (and "how things are ignored").

Bear in mind that there wasn't a clear idea of clan tartans until Victorian times. The closest one can come to real rules are the decisions of the Lord Lyon, the heraldic legal authority in Scotland. If you start from the premise that only a member of a particular clan should wear that clan's tartan, the Lord Lyon has determined that only those who bear the same surname as the chief of the clan (or the surname of a sept of that clan) is recognized as a member of that clan, as is anyone (and here's the catch-all) who offers allegiance to the chief unless the chief declines that person's allegiance.

These rules are, of course, only binding in Scotland, but even there they are not universally observed, much less enforced. Here in the States, there really are no rules (witness all the Americans who wear the Royal Stewart), but there will be some curmudgeonly-types who would like to insist on things being done just so.

In my experience, many if not most clan societies in the US (ETA: and elsewhere, sometimes including Scotland) willingly include anyone with the clan surname (or a sept surname) as well as anyone directly connected by descent or marriage to one with a clan or sept surname. With that understanding, your son would certainly be entitled to claim connection to your clan. (And I can't imagine anyone looking askew at him honoring his grandfather that way.)

Mind if I ask which clan?

[ForeverRoses]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Technically, there are no official rules -- it's more etiquette and "how things are done" (and "how things are ignored").

Bear in mind that there wasn't a clear idea of clan tartans until Victorian times. The closest one can come to real rules are the decisions of the Lord Lyon, the heraldic legal authority in Scotland. If you start from the premise that only a member of a particular clan should wear that clan's tartan, the Lord Lyon has determined that only those who bear the same surname as the chief of the clan (or the surname of a sept of that clan) is recognized as a member of that clan, as is anyone (and here's the catch-all) who offers allegiance to the chief unless the chief declines that person's allegiance.

These rules are, of course, only binding in Scotland, but even there they are not universally observed, much less enforced. Here in the States, there really are no rules (witness all the Americans who wear the Royal Stewart), but there will be some curmudgeonly-types who would like to insist on things being done just so.

In my experience, many if not most clan societies in the US (ETA: and elsewhere, sometimes including Scotland) willingly include anyone with the clan surname (or a sept surname) as well as anyone directly connected by descent or marriage to one with a clan or sept surname. With that understanding, your son would certainly be entitled to claim connection to your clan. (And I can't imagine anyone looking askew at him honoring his grandfather that way.)

Mind if I ask which clan?

I knew I asked in the right place! thank you!

The tie and our last name is part of the clan MacDonald. However through my parernal grandmother, my father has been able to trace us back to the clans of MacGreggor and Beals as well (however those MacGreggors came to the US in the 1640s).

My Dad is a geneologist and history buff so he loves to share stories of our family history with my oldest son- who has turned into a history buff himself.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by ForeverRoses

I knew I asked in the right place! thank you!

The tie and our last name is part of the clan MacDonald. However through my parernal grandmother, my father has been able to trace us back to the clans of MacGreggor and Beals as well (however those MacGreggors came to the US in the 1640s).

My Dad is a geneologist and history buff so he loves to share stories of our family history with my oldest son- who has turned into a history buff himself.

Cool!

You might want to check out the website of Clan Donald USA, where we find:

Clan Donald-USA embraces all the MacDonalds and other surnames that are recognized as branches or adherents of the greatest of the Highland clans.

Clan Donald-USA is an affiliation of persons who qualify by reason of blood, kinship, marriage or legal adoption. Name alone does not count. Clanship is a family matter that transcends nationality, and we regard ourselves as an extended family.

[honeychile]

I have more than one Scots lineage. The clan to which I belong, however, wears the following tartan:


Which gets amusing when you see that of my childhood best friend :


But another lineage of mine is a sept of the McDonald clan!


If anyone can find a picture of Princess Anne's second wedding, when she wore a simple white dress and her tartan sash, I've been looking for it for years!


Laird MysticCat, which tartan will ye be sportin'?

[Psi U MC Vito]

I know clans are families. Are septs like sub families within the clans? Or are they more like cadet branches of a clan?