Posted on 04/04/2008 6:36:30 PM PDT by mdittmar
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America
Americans of Scottish descent have made enduring contributions to our Nation with their hard work, faith, and values. On National Tartan Day, we celebrate the spirit and character of Scottish Americans and recognize their many contributions to our culture and our way of life.
Scotland and the United States have long shared ties of family and friendship, and many of our country's most cherished customs and ideals first grew to maturity on Scotland's soil. The Declaration of Arbroath, the Scottish Declaration of Independence signed in 1320, embodied the Scots' strong dedication to liberty, and the Scots brought that tradition of freedom with them to the New World. Sons and daughters of many Scottish clans were among the first immigrants to settle in America, and their determination and optimism helped build our Nation's character. Several of our Founding Fathers were of Scottish descent, as have been many Presidents and Justices of the United States Supreme Court. Many Scottish Americans, such as Andrew Carnegie, were great philanthropists, founding and supporting numerous scientific, educational, and civic institutions. From the evocative sounds of the bagpipes to the great sport of golf, the Scots have also left an indelible mark on American culture.
National Tartan Day is an opportunity to celebrate all Americans who claim Scottish ancestry, and we are especially grateful for the service in our Armed Forces of Scottish Americans who have answered the call to protect our Nation.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 6, 2008, as National Tartan Day. I call upon all Americans to observe this day by celebrating the continued friendship between the people of Scotland and the United States and by recognizing the contributions of Scottish Americans to our Nation.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second.
GEORGE W. BUSH
Wahoo! Does anyone know where you can find affordable fabric for making kilts? I’m looking for Brown clan or McKinley clan tartan.
Not only Scotts, the Irish have tartans, too.
Guess I’ll have to go dig out the bagpipe cd & play Scotland, the Brave!
I’m part Irish,Cassidy clan.
Seen This????
Pass the the haggis and Dark Island.
On second thought, pass on the haggis and add another pint or two of beer. 
That’s not bag pipes!
I am an American carry Scottish blood. No recognition needed. What silly crap.
|
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand. |
That’s just mean spirited.
Scottish Blessing
If there is righteousness in the heart
If there is righteousness in the heart,
there will be beauty in the character.
If there is beauty in the character,
there will be harmony in the home.
If there is harmony in the home,
there will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation,
there will be peace in the world.
So let it be
The Girvans are of the Gunn clan. We are Ulster Scots, both from Belfast,Ireland and Girvan, Scotland. All American to the bone. Happy Tartan Day!
The Scottish Lion does mail order.
Not cheap: polyester tartans are $30 yd, wools and silk $65+ yard.
They also have shops in NH and Nova Scotia.
I've looked and looked, and have come to believe that there is no such thing as affordable tartan fabric. That stuff is REALLY expensive on a per-yard basis. The Scottish Shop in Alexandria Virginia has the fabrics for just about every clan and also has a website where you can see many fabric samples. I just don't think this can be done in a way that is inexpensive but won't get you laughed at.
Thanks for the info! I’m in Utah so I’ll have to keep looking.
You ought to strathspey over to the Celtic Croft
I miss them.
For what is a tartan without a piper in it?
A tartan wi'oot a piper is toom.
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Went native. *\;-)
I have gained a greater sense of my place in the world as I've learned the history of my people. I'm of mostly Scotch-Irish descent and am also an American (first and foremost). However, being an American does not negate my proud recognition of my ancestors and their contribution to the making of America. In fact, the American Revolution was often referred to as the “Presbyterian Uprising” by the Brits because so many Scotch-Irish or Ulster Scots were standing against them.
The Gibson clan here!
History question guys, I read somewhere that after Bonnie Prince Charlie’s rebellion, Culloden and the brutal Highland Clearances, the banning of the tartan, etc., was so efficient that in the 1860’s, after Queen Victoria and her “Highland Journals” made Scotland hip again, all but a handful of the clan tartans had to be recreated from scratch as there was nothing left to tell anyone what they looked like.
I do not know the history you just sited but it makes sense because when you research tartan plaids you sometimes see two: one historical one modern and then there are others that say close recreations or modern speculation.
"The world's first colour photograph, made by the Scottish scientist James Clerk Maxwell in 1861, was of a tartan ribbon."
According to Wikipedia, the tartans were revived long before Victoria:
“Efforts to pacify the Highlands led to the 1746 Dress Act banning tartans with exemptions for the military and the gentry. Soon after the Act was repealed in 1782 Highland Societies of landowners were promoting “the general use of the ancient Highland dress”. William Wilson & Sons of Bannockburn became the foremost weaving manufacturer around 1770 as suppliers of tartan to the military. Wilson corresponded with his agents in the highlands to get information and samples of cloth from the clan districts to enable him to reproduce “perfectly genuine patterns” and recorded over 200 setts by 1822, many of which were tentatively named. The Cockburn Collection of named samples made by Wilsons was put together between 1810 and 1820 and is now in the Mitchell Library in Glasgow. At this time many setts were simply numbered, or given fanciful names such as the “Robin Hood” tartan.
By the 19th century the Highland romantic revival inspired by James Macpherson’s Ossian poems and the writings of Walter Scott led to wider interest, with clubs like the Celtic Society of Edinburgh welcoming Lowlanders. The pageantry invented for the 1822 visit of King George IV to Scotland brought a sudden demand for tartan cloth and made it the national dress of the whole of Scotland, with the invention of many new clan tartans to suit.”
Interesting passage, it gives the impression that Highland clan tartans were never really all that cut-and-dried to begin with.
One of my ancestors was the commanding officer of the Queen's [Mary] personal guard. Thus the Isle of Bute was possessed by our family for a time.
How I would love to visit there.
<< What say you,you Scotts? >>
Got my Clan Bell badge tattooed on my right shoulder, and my Bell of The Borders kilt in the closet.
Proud Border Reivers we be. Happy Tartan Day!
Clan Kinnaird here!
“Patitur Qui Vincit”
He who is patient, conquers.
I wish I knew how to paste the tartan and crest into this note. I think they are quite interesting.
The Welsh do as well. I'd be hard pressed to choose as my paternal grandfather was Welsh, paternal grandmother was Scot/Irish, maternal grandmother was Irish and maternal grandfather was English with a Norman surname.
The Edwards tartan from Wales
I’ll have to wear my tartan shirt to church. I showed up at a meeting and one of the preacher’s said my shirt was for her clan! Lots of orange and yellow in it. I told her “Well - it was my old man’s, and we’re 100% Norwegian ancestry - so no relation I suppose”. (Although I guess we COULD be related due to all of the raiding and pillaging and other sundry things my Viking ancestors may have done on “vacation” on the Islands...)
Anyway - will wear it to church in honor of the Scottish! (Hey - happen to know when National Lutefiske Day is?).
BACK to the TOP!!!
BTW, the Japanese like the bagpipes, they have a Shinto effect.
Happy Tartan Day to you ALL!
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