National Tartan Day 2023: Date, History, Facts about Scottish

National Tartan Day, observed annually on April 6 in the United States, commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath (or Scottish Declaration of Independence) in 1320. The American Declaration of Independence was modelled after the Declaration of Arbroath, and a large proportion of the Founding Fathers were of Scottish descent (almost half of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and nine of the 13 governors of the newly formed United States were of Scottish descent!)

The background of National Tartan Day

In the mid-1980s, Tartan Day originated in Canada, where just over 15% of the population is of Scottish descent. It is a day for the Scottish diaspora to commemorate their heritage and the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath on April 6, 1320, which granted them full sovereignty and the right to defend themselves with military action.

Shortly after the establishment of Tartan Day in Canada in 1998, the Coalition of Scottish Americans in the United States successfully campaigned for April 6 to be recognised as National Tartan Day to honour “the outstanding achievements and contributions made by Scottish Americans to the United States.”

From there, it has spread throughout the globe and is primarily celebrated in Canada, the United States, Australia, and, oddly enough, Argentina, which has approximately 100,000 Scottish descendants, the largest such community in a non-English-speaking country.

As for Scotland, Tartan Day did not become a national celebration until 2004, nearly 20 years after its inception in Canada.

The name “Tartan Day” refers to the woollen fabric woven in squares and crisscrossing lines, which was traditionally worn by members of ancient Scottish clans (see kilts) — a modern equivalent of tartan is plaid.

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Some nations have their own tartans with distinct patterns and hues; Canada’s is dubbed the Maple Leaf.

The song that is universally sung on New Year’s Eve is titled “Auld Lang Syne” and was written by the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns as a Scottish folk song.

Bagpipes actually originated in ancient Egypt and the Middle East, not in Scotland.

Gaelic, an ancient Celtic language, is still spoken in some regions of Scotland and is even taught in some institutions, despite the fact that English is the country’s primary language.

They designated it as their national animal because unicorns represent purity, strength, unity, and bravery, and because the Scots are fascinated by mythology.

NATIONAL TARTAN DAY DATES