World Tartan Day 2023 | International Tartan Day 2023 Theme, Wishes, Images:
Tartan Day is a North American celebration of Scottish heritage on 6 April, the date on which the Declaration of Arbroath was signed in 1320. It originated in Canada in the mid-1980s. It spread to other communities of the Scottish diaspora in the 1990s. In Australia and New Zealand, a similar International Tartan Day is held on 1 July, the anniversary of the repeal of the 1747 Act of Proscription that banned the wearing of tartan.
Tartan Days typically have parades of pipe bands, Highland dancing and other Scottish-themed events.
On 9 March 1986, a “Tartan Day” to promote Scottish heritage in Canada was proposed at a meeting of the Federation of Scottish Clans in Nova Scotia (whose name means “New Scotland”).Jean Watson, President of Clan Lamont, petitioned provincial legislatures to recognize 6 April as Tartan Day.The first such proclamation was by Nova Scotia in April 1987. On 19 December 1991, in response to action initiated by the Clans & Scottish Societies of Canada, the Ontario Legislature passed a resolution proclaiming 6 April as Tartan Day, following the example of other Canadian provinces.
Meeting in 1997 in Sarasota, Florida, the Scottish Coalition USA looked to see Tartan Day recognized in the US as it was being observed in Canada.In 1998, the efforts of the Scottish Coalition with the leading help of Trent Lott saw the United States Senate Resolution adopt April 6 as National Tartan Day. This led in turn to the Congressional and then Presidential passing of the recognition of Tartan Day Observance on 6 April each year.
In Australia, wearing tartan on 1 July has been encouraged since 1989. The day has been promoted as International Tartan Day in Australia since 1996 and has been formally recognized by some states, but not at a national level.
There are an estimated 25 million people in the US who are of Scottish descent.Little was done to follow up the New York event in 1982. In 1998, a Coalition of Scottish Americans with the support of Senator Trent Lott successfully lobbied the Senate for the designation of 6 April as National Tartan Day “to recognize the outstanding achievements and contributions made by Scottish Americans to the United States”.
Senate Resolution 155, passed on March 20, 1998, referred to the predominance of Scots among the Founding Fathers and claimed that the American Declaration of Independence was “modelled on” the Declaration of Arbroath.
On 9 March 2005, the United States House of Representatives unanimously adopted House Resolution 41, which designates 6 April of each year as “National Tartan Day”. H.Res.41 Chief Sponsors were Congressmen Mike McIntyre from North Carolina and John Duncan from Tennessee, who are the founding co-chairs of the Friends of Scotland Caucus in the US House of Representatives.
The Tunes of Glory Parade organised by Magnus Orr and Thomas Grotrian in 2002 included 8,250 pipers and drummers marching through the streets of New York, led by Sir Sean Connery and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.