Tartan Day is celebrated in the United States and around the world each year on April 6th. It marks the day that the Declaration of Arbroath (or the Scottish Declaration of Independence) was signed in 1320. This declaration gave Scotland the power to defend itself using its own military. Tartan Day originated in the mid-1980s in Canada, as about 15% of the population has Scottish heritage.
In 1998, the Coalition of Scottish Americans in the United
States campaigned to have Tartan Day be commemorated in the U.S. The United
States Declaration of Independence was modeled on the Declaration of Arbroath.
Nearly half of the signers of the US Declaration of Independence and nine of
the 13 governors of the original states were Scottish.
Tartan is important in Scottish culture worldwide as it
represents familial ties, regional clans, or battlefield identification. Today,
tartan is a symbol of organizations, events, brands, concepts, and even
individuals. It connects people through commonalities in a world that tends to
be divisive. There are universal tartans for those who do not have a family
tartan or are unsure about what tartan suits them.
Today, Tartan Day is celebrated around the world, especially
in Canada, America, and Australia. Argentina even celebrates Tartan Day- it has
about 100,000 people with Scottish heritage and is the largest community of
non-English-speaking Scottish descendants in any country. Scotland did not
adopt Tartan Day until 2004, nearly 20 years after its start in Canada.
The day is celebrated with parades, bagpipes, highland
dancing, and wearing your tartan. People listen to traditional Scottish music
and eat Scottish cuisine. There are in-person and virtual events to commemorate
the day. Some people even host tartan-themed dinner parties. It is a day to
celebrate Scottish pride, whether you have Scottish heritage or not. Tartan Day
honors the contributions that the Scots have made to the world.
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