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

In the mid-1980s, Tartan Day originated in Canada, where just over 15% of the population is of Scottish descent.

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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