National Tartan Day is observed in the United States on April 6 each year. It commemorates the day that the Declaration of Arbroath (the Scottish Declaration of Independence) was signed in 1320.Our Declaration of Independence was modeled on the Declaration of Arbroath.Before going on, it’s important to know the meanings of three words: tartan, kilt, and clan.A tartan is a type of colorful woolen cloth. It has a design made up of squares formed by crisscrossing lines. The lines can be thick or thin or a combination of both. A colorful fabric that is decorated with circles or just stripes can’t be a tartan. It has to have lines of color running up and down and also back and forth. Think plaid and you’ll get the idea.Depending on the colors chosen, the number of colors, the order of the colors, and the thickness of the lines, there can be—and are – thousands of different tartan designs.The word tartan comes from French, not from the Scottish Gaelic language. The Gaelic word for tartan is breacan.A kilt is a knee-length wrap-around skirt, usually worn by men. Most Scottish kilts are made from tartan. Shirts, purses, hats, and other such items can be made from tartan, as well.A Scottish clan is a group made up of families with a common ancestor. From the 1200s to the middle 1700s, most Scots in the mountainous northwest part of Scotland lived in clans. For each clan there would be a chief, who was the leader.The clans settled in and controlled areas of land and their names were usually tied to the name of the area where they lived.Clans had (and still have) five things: a name, a specific pattern of tartan, a motto (or battle cry), an area where they lived, and a crest. A crest is a sort of badge with a symbol or saying representing a clan.Because each clan’s tartan was distinctive in its colors and design, someone could see a kilt’s tartan and know instantly what clan the wearer was from.Here are a few clans, where their lands were, what their names mean, and their mottos. Pictures of their tartans and crests are easy to find online. (These clans still exist today.)Clan MacLeod. They ruled over the islands of Skye and Lewis. MacLeod means ‘Son of Leod’, a famous Norse warrior. Their motto is: “Hold Fast”Clan Campbell. They were based in Argyll. Their name comes from two Gaelic words, cam and beul. Cam means crooked and buel means mouth. Their motto is “Ne Obliviscaris,” which is Latin for “Do not forget”.Clan Anderson. They lived in the northeast of Scotland. The name means Son of Andrew. Their motto: “Stand Sure”Clan Cameron. They were based in Lochaber. The name comes from the Gaelic ‘Cam-sron.’ which means ‘Crooked Nose’. Their motto: “Aonaibh Ri Chéile” from the Gaelic for “Let Us Unite”.Clan MacGregor (also known as clan Gregor) was a Highland clan. Their motto: ‘S Rioghal Mo Dhream” means “Royal is my race.”How many clans were there? Different people give different answers. There may have been a thousand or more.How many clans are there today? Perhaps one of the best answers comes from an organization called the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs, which lists around 140 distinct clans.Today, there are people of Scottish descent living in many countries. Argentina, for example, has around 100,000. Australia has around three million. Canada has about 5 million. The United States has about 25 million.On March 9, 2005, the United States House of Representatives adopted House Resolution 41, which designates April 6 of each year as “National Tartan Day.”What are some of the things people do on National Tartan Day?Be part of a parade or watch a parade honoring Scotland, its people, and culture.Wear a kilt and a sporran. Because a kilt doesn’t have pockets, a sporran, which is a sort of purse made from leather or fur, hangs around the waist on a leather strap or chain. In older times, a sporran held such items as food, ammunition, and fire-making tools. Today, it comes in handy to carry phones and wallets.If you don’t have a kilt or a nearby parade, you could eat a Scottish meal. Or listen to Scottish music played on bagpipes.Fun Facts• The New Year’s Eve song, Auld Lang Syne, is a Scottish song. The words were written by Robert Burns, a renowned Scottish poet.• The national animal of Scotland is a unicorn. Scotland selected the unicorn (even though unicorns don’t actually exist) because it represents courage, purity, strength, and unity.• The American astronaut, Alan Bean, took along a 14-x14-inch piece of a MacBean tartan when he went to the moon in 1969. He brought it back and gave a piece of it to the Clan MacBean, a piece to the St. Bean Chapel in Scotland, and kept a 5 x 8 inch piece for himself. In 2016, his piece sold for $5,920 at auction.
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