If you were asked the question “what is the most famous Scottish tradition” the wearing of tartan might be one of the first answers you give.

Almost everyone when asked that question would think about the Scottish kilt and the associated tartans that now symbolise Scotland throughout the world. Yet in the majority of cases they would be wrong in thinking of it as traditional wear!

A close examination of history will show us that although the Scots have indeed worn the kilt and the tartan from earliest times, the current style now bears very little resemblance to the original design. Indeed most of the now “traditional” tartans worn by Scottish Clans and sold throughout the world as such can only be traced back to the middle of the 18th century.

Historical Tartan Wear.

However history clearly shows that the kilt and tartans have been the true dress of Scots people for as long as their history has been recorded. Indeed there is still a sample of a small piece of Scottish brown and white tartan which was originally used as a stopper for an earthenware pot. This contained a treasure trove of silver coins and was found close to a Roman wall near Falkirk. This tartan cloth appears to have been buried in the third century.

There are also other references to tartans in various historic documents and paintings.

For example, a charter granted to Hector Maclean of Duart in 1587 for land in the neighbouring Isle of Islay details a rental payable in 60 ells of white, black and green colours. This is very similar to the pattern now being worn as the current Maclean Hunting tartan.

"Every line of strength in American history is a line coloured with Scottish blood."
 President Woodrow Wilson praising the contribution of the Scottish Nation to the history of the USA

Why have countries set aside a special day called "Tartan Day"?

The effect of Scots moving the new emerging countries such as Canada and USA clearly effected almost every part of its culture and growth. It could even be said that the Scottish immigrants — many who still wore the tartan kilt in the new world — had a greater effect on the development of these new world countries than any other immigrant group from anywhere in the world.

Lets consider the effect of
Scots on the USA.

• Anyone looking at the map of North Carolina will find that there are 130 towns or places beginning with either "Mac" or "Mc".

• Nearly half of the Secretaries of the US Treasury and one third of the the Secretaries of State of United States have been of Scots origin.

• Nine of the thirteen Governors of the newly created United States were Scots or of Scottish descent.

• Of the fifty six signatories of the Declaration of Independence nine were directly or indirectly descended from Scots.

• At least eleven Presidents of the USA have had Scots ancestry

Our Laird of Jura book lists even more achievements but we lack space here to repeat them all.

Some people think of the Tartan Day as being a day to remember! A day to celebrate! Scotsmen and women left their native country to travel to faraway places around the world including the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. However as Scots they brought with them elements of their culture not just the tartan kilt and bagpipes but their skills their tenacity and hard work.

National Tartan Day on April 6th is about celebrating their achievements.

There are nearly as many descendants of Scots living in Canada as there are people living in Scotland; almost 5 million. In the US there are more than 12 million people of Scottish descent. 

Many Scottish groups and societies campaigned for recognition of their importance in the development of their country. Central to their campaign was the recognition of the anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath (1320) as their national date to celebrate their Scottish roots.

A small part of that Declaration of Arbroath, states "For so long as one hundred men remain alive, we shall never under any conditions submit to the domination of the English. It is not for glory or riches or honours that we fight, but only for liberty, which no good man will consent to lose but with his life."

Canada was the first to recognise April 6th as the special Tartan Day.

America followed suit on March 20th 1998, when Senate Resolution 155 (S.Res. 155), proposed by US Senate Republican majority leader Trent Lott, was passed unanimously.

The full resolution as passed in the US Senate, with its preamble, is as follows:

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S. Res. 155
Whereas April 6 has a special significance for all Americans, and especially those Americans of Scottish descent, because the Declaration of Arbroath, the Scottish Declaration of Independence, was signed on April 6, 1320 and the American Declaration of Independence was modelled on that inspirational document;

Whereas this resolution honors the major role that Scottish Americans played in the founding of this Nation, such as the fact that almost half of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were of Scottish descent, the Governors in 9 of the original 13 States were of Scottish ancestry, Scottish Americans successfully helped shape this country in its formative years and guide this Nation through its most troubled times;

Whereas this resolution recognizes the monumental achievements and invaluable contributions made by Scottish Americans that have led to America’s preeminence in the fields of science, technology, medicine, government, politics, economics, architecture, literature, media, and visual and performing arts;

Whereas this resolution commends the more than 200 organizations throughout the United States that honor Scottish heritage, tradition, and culture, representing the hundreds of thousands of Americans of Scottish descent, residing in every State, who already have made the observance of Tartan Day on April 6 a success;

Whereas these numerous individuals, clans, societies, clubs, and fraternal organizations do not let the great contributions of the Scottish people go unnoticed:

Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate designates April 6 of each year as "National Tartan Day."

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Scotland has tried to establish a similar celebration Tartan Day over the last couple of years but it has yet to take off in any major way.   Arbroath of course taking the lead followed by other large towns.

The third largest city in Scotland Aberdeen has just just decided to launch its own Tartan day celebration but going against the international consensus of going for April 6th — the anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath — but choosing a day in August.  WHY?

See our pages on the Tartan and The Kilt here