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Tartan Day
Tartan Day is a North American celebration of Scottish heritage on April 6, the date
on which the Declaration of Arbroath was signed in 1320. It originated in Canada in the
mid-1980s. It spread to other communities of the Scottish diaspora in the 1990s. In
Australia the similar International Tartan Day is held on July 1, the anniversary of
the repeal of the 1747 Act of Proscription that banned the wearing of tartan.

Tartan Days typically have parades of pipe bands, Highland dancing and other Scottish-
themed events.

Contents
Origins
Canada
Sean Connery at a Tartan
Scotland
Day celebration in
Argentina Washington D.C. with
Australia members of the USAF
Reserve Pipes and Drums.
United States of America
References
External links

Origins
On March 9, 1986, a 'Tartan Day' to promote Scottish heritage in Canada, was proposed at a meeting of the Federation of
Scottish Clans in Nova Scotia.[1] Jean Watson, President of Clan Lamont, petitioned provincial legislatures to recognize
April 6 as Tartan Day.[1] The first such proclamation was by Nova Scotia in April 1987. On December 19, 1991, in response
to action initiated by the Clans & Scottish Societies of Canada, the Ontario Legislature passed a resolution proclaiming
April 6 as Tartan Day following the example of other Canadian provinces.[2]

Meeting in 1997 in Sarasota, Florida, the Scottish Coalition USA looked to see Tartan Day recognized in the US as it was
being observed in Canada.[3] In 1998, the efforts of the Scottish Coalition with the leading help of Trent Lott, saw the
United States Senate Resolution adopt April 6 as National Tartan Day. This led in turn to the Congressional and then
Presidential passing of the recognition of Tartan Day Observance on April 6 each year.[4]

In Australia, wearing tartan on July 1 has been encouraged since 1989. The day has been promoted as International Tartan
Day in Australia since 1996[5] and has been formally recognised by many states, but not at national level.

Canada

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15.1% or 4.7 million Canadians claim Scottish descent.[6] As stated above, Tartan Day in Canada originated with a proposal
from the Federation of Scottish Clans in Nova Scotia and has since been proclaimed by all the provincial legislatures. In
2007 Peter Stoffer introduced a private member's bill for "An Act respecting a Tartan Day". Progress of the bill was
interrupted by the 2008 election, but it has been resubmitted.[7]

An annual 'Gathering of the Clans' will take place each April 6 or on the Sunday nearest to it on Parliament Hill in Ottawa
at noon with pipes, drums and dancing hosted by the Sons of Scotland Pipe Band, Canada's oldest civilian pipe band.[8]
The 2011 celebrations marked the first time that Tartan Day has been celebrated with Canada's official tartan having been
named: the Maple Leaf.

Scotland
Angus Council, whose region includes Arbroath, established the first Tartan Day festival in Scotland on April 6, 2004, and
has since joined other regional councils in attempting to develop its potential as a global celebration.[9]

Argentina
Argentina has around 100,000 people of Scottish descent, the largest such community outside the English-speaking
world. The Tartan Day parade of Scottish porteños was inaugurated in Buenos Aires on April 6, 2006 and is organised
every year by the Scottish Argentine Society.[10] A symbolic key to the gate of Arbroath's Abbey is carried to mark the date
in 1320 that inspired this celebration.[11]

Australia
Three million Australians are either Scottish or of Scottish descent. International Tartan Day in Australia is celebrated on
a local basis in most states on July 1 (or by some community organisations on the nearest Sunday), the anniversary of the
Repeal Proclamation of 1782 annulling the Act of Proscription of 1747, which had made wearing tartan an offense
punishable with up to seven years' transportation.[12][13] According to Scottish House secretary Moyna Scotland, the
tendency to disguise Scottish associations was mirrored in Australia: 'Scots did what they were told to do when they came
to Australia assimilate and integrate and they almost disappeared', and consequently one aim of Tartan Day is to help
Australians reconnect with their Scottish ancestry.[14] A tartan revival started in 1822, and now many of the Australian
States as well as the Commonwealth of Australia itself have their own tartans.[15][16][17]

In 1989 the Scottish Australian Heritage Council began to encourage Australians to wear tartan on July 1,[18] when more
than half a million Australians gather for a celebration of Scottish heritage,[19] combining nostalgia with Australian
citizenship ceremonies,[20] and fund-raising for charitable causes such as drought assistance.[5] Australians without a
family tartan are invited to wear the Royal Stewart tartan or the military tartan of the Black Watch.[21] Tartan articles
worn on the day include hats, ties and socks.[22] There are many pipe band associations in both Australia and New
Zealand, some originating in disbanded Second World War army battalions,[23] and almost 30 heritage events in Australia
alone.[24] Some clans, notably the McLeods of South Australia, come together in private events to honour their chief, recite
Burns, consume haggis and take part in Highland dancing.[25] A butcher in Maclean, New South Wales, 'the Scottish town
in Australia', reportedly celebrates the day by selling haggisburgers.[26]

Since 2001 the Scottish Australian Heritage Council and Australian branch of the Scottish National Party have petitioned
Canberra for federal recognition of International Tartan Day to celebrate the Scottish contribution to Australian
history,[27] including the influence of Scottish radicalism on the trade union movement and the Labor Party, and

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Australia's allegedly 'egalitarian and meritocratic' society.[28] In 2008 Linda Fabiani, the then-Scottish culture minister,
floated a proposal to expand the Australian event into an official Scotland Week as part of the Scottish government's
international business strategy.[29]

United States of America

There are an estimated 6 million people in the US who claim Scottish descent.[30] Little was done to follow up the New
York event in 1982. In 1998, a Coalition of Scottish Americans with the Support of Senator Trent Lott, successfully lobbied
the Senate for the designation of April 6 as National Tartan Day "to recognize the outstanding achievements and
contributions made by Scottish Americans to the United States".[31] Senate Resolution 155, passed on March 20, 1998,
referred to the predominance of Scots among the Founding Fathers and claimed that the American Declaration of
Independence was "modelled on" the Declaration of Arbroath.[31]

On March 9, 2005, the United States House of Representatives unanimously adopted House Resolution 41, which
designates April 6 of each year as "National Tartan Day." H.Res.41 Chief Sponsors were Congressmen Mike McIntyre from
North Carolina and John Duncan from Tennessee, who are the founding co-chairs of the Friends of Scotland Caucus in the
U.S. House of Representatives.[32]

The Tunes of Glory Parade organised by Magnus Orr and Thomas Grotrian in 2002 included 8,250 pipers and drummers
march through the streets of New York led by Sir Sean Connery and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.[33]

References
1. "Events – Tartan Day in Canada (April 6)" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090504011923/http://www.scotsns.ca/event
s/tartan-day.asp). Federation of Scottish Clans in Nova Scotia. 2007. Archived from the original (http://www.scotsns.c
a/events/tartan-day.asp) on May 4, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
2. "Tartan Day" (https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/house-documents/parliament-35/session-1/1991-12-19/hans
ard). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Province of Ontario: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. December 19, 1991.
col. 1100.
3. "About" (http://dctartanday.org/about/). Tartan Day Washington D.C. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
4. "A Lott of reasons to honor Scots" (https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2000/apr/5/20000405-011049-4772r/).
The Washington Times. April 5, 2000. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
5. Suzanna Clarke, 'The Pipes Are Calling', The Courier-Mail (July 2, 2005), p. 60.
6. "Ethnic origins, 2006 counts, for Canada, provinces and territories – 20% sample data" (https://web.archive.org/web/2
0080603141336/http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/highlights/ethnic/pages/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR
&Code=01&Table=2&Data=Count&StartRec=1&Sort=3&Display=All). Statistics Canada. Archived from the original (ht
tp://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/highlights/ethnic/pages/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=01&Table=
2&Data=Count&StartRec=1&Sort=3&Display=All) on June 3, 2008.
7. "C-214 An Act respecting a Tartan Day" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090605084553/http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Sites/L
OP/LEGISINFO/index.asp?Language=E). Library of Parliament. May 14, 2009. Archived from the original (http://www
2.parl.gc.ca/Sites/LOP/LEGISINFO/index.asp?Language=E&query=5578&List=toc) on June 5, 2009. Retrieved
May 15, 2009. The Canadian bill got its first reading as C-402 of the 39th Parliament on October 16, 2007, and was
reintroduced as C-218 of the 40th Parliament on November 21, 2008.
8. "The Sons of Scotland Pipe Band" (http://www.sospb.com/). The Sons of Scotland Pipe Band.
9. Frank Urquhart, 'Arbroath declares itself the centre of Scots Tartan Day', The Scotsman (January 18, 2006), p. 23.
10. Jim Gilchrist, 'Stories of Homecoming: We're on the march with Argentina's Scots' The Scotsman (December 15,
2008), p. 18.
11. Tom Shields, 'We hold the reason for this holiday to be self-evident', Sunday Herald (March 20, 2008), p. 36.
12. Celeste Ray (ed.), Transatlantic Scots (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2005), p. 17, n. 19.
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13. Jodie Munro O'Brien, 'Tastes of tartan on the Coast', Gold Coast Sun ( June 28, 2006), p. 1.
14. 'Scottish pride is in for a bonny time', Hornsby and Upper North Shore Advocate, p. 1.
15. 'Coastal Scots get into kilts', Gold Coast Bulletin (June 27, 2002), p. 23
16. Scotland, National Records of. "Tartan Details – The Scottish Register of Tartans" (http://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/tar
tanDetails.aspx?ref=3841). www.tartanregister.gov.uk.
17. "The House of Tartan – Suppliers of the Australian Tartans" (http://www.tartanhouse.com.au/australian.html).
www.tartanhouse.com.au.
18. 'Regular Shorts', Sydney Morning Herald (June 30, 1989), p. 1, col. 8.
19. Media Release: The Hon. Teresa Gambaro MP, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (June 30, 2007),
AAP MediaNet Press Releases.
20. Scottish celebration, Southern News (June 30, 2005), p. 22.
21. Kilmeny Adie, 'Celebrating a Highland heritage', Illawarra Mercury (July 1, 2004), p. 9.
22. Catriona Mathewson, 'Scots all tartaned up for big day', Courier-Mail (June 28, 2004), p. 6.
23. 'Things to do this weekend', Daily News (Warwick, Queensland, July 11, 2008), p. 4.
24. Ray (ed.), Transatlantic Scots, p. 88, n. 53.
25. Jenny Hullick, 'McLeod's daughters, and sons, form local clan', News Review Messenger (September 19, 2001), p.
14.
26. 'News and Features', Sydney Morning Herald (July 1, 1993), p. 1.
27. 'Ex-Pats Demand Day Down Under', The Express (London, February 19, 2001), p. 1.
28. John McTerman, 'Why the true patriots do not wear plaid', Scotland on Sunday (April 7, 2002), p. 18.
29. Marc Horne, 'No flies on Alex as Tartan Week goes walkabout', Scotland on Sunday (March 30, 2008), p. 3.
30. Bureau, U. S. Census. "American FactFinder – Results" (https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/pr
oductview.xhtml?src=bkmk). factfinder.census.gov.
31. "Congressional Record – Senate" (http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getpage.cgi?dbname=1998_record&page
=S2373&position=all). Library of Congress. March 20, 1998: S2373.
32. "Congressional Record – House" (http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getpage.cgi?dbname=2005_record&page=
H1029&position=all). Library of Congress. March 9, 2005: H1029–31. In addition to the two chief sponsors, H.Res.41
had 54 co-sponsors, including Congresswoman Candice Miller of Michigan, Congressman Danny K. Davis of Illinois
and Congressman Alcee Hastings of Florida, who all addressed the House of Representatives in favor of the
resolution.
33. "Bring yer pipes, drums and kilts!" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090227074617/http://www.tartanweek.com/).
Archived from the original (http://www.tartanweek.com/) on February 27, 2009.

External links
National Tartan Day USA (http://www.tartanday.org/)
The Scottish Coalition USA (http://americanscottishfoundation.com/tartanday/scottish_coalition.html)
New York Tartan Day Site (https://web.archive.org/web/20090227074617/http://www.tartanweek.com/)
National Capital Tartan Day Committee, Inc. (https://web.archive.org/web/20130716022512/http://www.tartandaydc.co
m/)
National New York Tartan Day Committee (http://nyctartanweek.org/)
American-Scottish Foundation, Inc (http://americanscottishfoundation.com/tartanDay/index.html)
Minnesota Tartan Day Cooperative Committee News & Events (http://www.minnesotascots.org/)
Official Scotland Week website (http://www.scotland.org/scotland-week/)

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