Tartan Day, 6 April

[karen9]

 

I'd never heard of Tartan Day until recently. It commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath on 6 April 1320 during the Scottish Wars of Independence. It affirmed the Scots's right to independence of England.

The Declaration is believed to have considerably influenced the American Declaration of Independence.

 

Comments

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

I hadn't heard of it until I read this LJ entry, though, apparently, Toronto is celebrating it for the first time this year. There's some kind of Tartan Day event being held at Casa Loma today with the Royal Scottish Country Dancing Society and everything. Oh, and I also learned that the Maple Leaf tartan became Canada's official tartan recently.

[karen9.livejournal.com]

I heard about it through a colleague of mine who is involved with a local Scottish Dancing Society, which celebrates the day. (correct use of which?)

Maple Leaf tartan - you're kidding me, right?

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

I know it must sound like a joke, but it really isn't. There honestly is a Maple Leaf tartan that has now been officially recognized. And here's a very fitting description I found for the tartan, which I quite like:

"The Maple Leaf is indigenous to the Dominion of Canada and is the recognized symbol of Canada throughout the world. The tartan captures the natural phenomenon of the changes in colour throughout the year of the Maple Leaf. The green is the early colour of the foliage. The gold appears at the turn of the autumn. The red shows up with the coming of the frost. The brown alludes to the leaf at the end of its life cycle".

[karen9.livejournal.com]

The tartan is pretty. I think it's a good idea to have an official tartan!