Celebrate Canada’s First National Tartan Day at the Bard & Banker, on Wednesday April 6th, from 8pm.
Here are a few facts to get you all ready for the day…
The Declaration of Arbroath is a declaration of Scottish independence. It is in the form of a letter submitted to Pope John XXII, dated 6 April 1320, intended to confirm Scotland’s status as an independent, sovereign state and defending Scotland’s right to use military action when unjustly attacked. With the official seals of fifty-one magnates and nobles, the letter is the sole survivor of three created at the time. The others were a letter from the King of Scots – Robert Bruce, and a letter from four Scottish bishops which all presumably made similar pleas.
Like the American Declaration of Independence, which is partially based on the Arbroath Treaty, it is seen by many as the founding document of the Scottish nation. It is also interesting to note that almost half of the signers of the American Declaration of Independence were of Scottish descent. Shawn Connery aka (James Bond) marches in the Tartan Day Parade in New York every year proudly wearing his Clan Tartan.
A quote from the Declaration of Arbroath:
“As long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom — for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with his life itself”.
TARTAN FACT SHEET
- Tartan in Gaelic is “breacan” meaning – checkered.
- The earliest Tartan was the Shepherds Tartan made into a checkered pattern with black and white sheep wool (no dyes).
- The early Highland Shepherds would gather and wrap one large square piece of wool around them leaving a pouch to carry lambs.
- Roman writers wrote about Celtic Tribes who were expert weavers of woollen cloth and their love for color in it.
- The early Scots used roots, berries or leaves to dye the white sheep wool to create various clan or family Tartans or sets.
- Tartans throughout history have been used for many different purposes including: hunting, military service, ceremonies and clan affiliation.
- Clan or “Clanna” means children and each tribe or families Tartan was a symbol of kinship connecting them to their community and ancestors.
- 1747 Disarming Act – the English outlawed the wearing of Tartan. An offender could be fined, jailed or sent to a criminal work colony for up to 7 years.
- There are over 8,000 Tartans worldwide and the registration office for Tartans is the Lyon Court Scotland.
- The Canadian Maple Leaf is soon to be our National Tartan and Victoria has its own “City of Gardens Tartan”. Every province in Canada also has a Provincial Tartan except for Quebec and Nunavut.
The Maple Leaf Tartan, inspired by the shifting hues of autumn leaves, was announced this month to have become Canada’s national tartan and also an “official symbol” of the nation itself.
The Canadian government has pre-empted a Liberal senator’s crusade to have Maple Leaf Tartan declared the country’s official Scottish cloth, announcing Wednesday that the distinctive green-and-red pattern — inspired by the shifting hues of autumn leaves — has not only been made the national tartan but also an “official symbol” of the nation itself.
The designation means the tartan — designed in 1964 by Toronto garment maker David Weiser ahead of Canada’s centennial celebrations — will join the flag, the coat of arms, the beaver and a handful of other objects as state-sanctioned emblems of Canada, according to a statement issued by Heritage Minister James Moore.
“The Maple Leaf Tartan has been worn proudly and enjoyed by Canadians for decades, but has never been elevated to the level of an official symbol — until now,” said Moore. “Our national symbols express our identity and define our history. The Maple Leaf Tartan represents the contributions that the more than four million Canadians of Scottish heritage continue to make to our country.”
The Conservative government’s declaration comes less than a week after Liberal Senator Elizabeth Hubley, of P.E.I., gave a speech urging support for her proposed legislation, Bill S-226, to make Maple Leaf Tartan the official national tartan.
“The Maple Leaf Tartan has been Canada’s unofficial national tartan for many years,” she said last Thursday. “It is time to recognize the rich contribution Canadians of Scottish descent have made to this country by adopting a national tartan for Canada, which can be worn by every Canadian, regardless of their ancestry, as a symbol of national pride.”
Hubley’s office initially expressed “shock” at Wednesday’s announcement. And in comments to Postmedia News following the government’s statement, Hubley pointed to “eerie similarities” between Moore’s declaration and her own expressions of support for the Maple Leaf Tartan last week in the Senate.
“I am pleased the government has been listening,” she said. “And if you read the wording of the press release, there are eerie similarities to my second-reading speech from last Thursday.”
She also raised doubts about whether a simple announcement from the government had the weight of legislation — duly passed by Parliament — to declare the Maple Leaf Tartan an official emblem of Canada. “A press release from a cabinet minister is not sufficient to create a national symbol.”
Wednesday’s announcement by the government made no mention of Hubley’s bill, but included comments from Conservative Senator John Wallace, of New Brunswick, who recently spearheaded an effort to have the government formally recognize April 6 as National Tartan Day.
“The tartan is one of the most visual expressions of Scottish heritage and culture,” Wallace said in Wednesday’s statement. “Making the Maple Leaf Tartan an official symbol of Canada highlights the many significant contributions that people of Scottish heritage have made to the founding of Canada.”
While the Maple Leaf Tartan appears to have become an unexpected symbol of political partisanship, both the Liberals and Conservatives do have legitimate prior claims to being champions of the patriotic plaid.
In 2006, former Liberal MP John Matheson — a key player in the political battle that led to the adoption of Canada’s Maple Leaf flag in 1965 — urged that the government adopt a national tartan as a readily recognized “signal” to be displayed by Canadians of all ethnic stripes to show that they “care about a united Canada.”
In 2008, Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney (who has since added immigration to his cabinet portfolio) announced that he had officially registered the Maple Leaf Tartan with the Scottish Tartan Authority in Edinburgh to secure exclusive rights for the pattern for the Canadian government.
“The Government of Canada recognizes the many ways in which Scottish culture and tradition have contributed to the strength of our communities,” Kenney said at the time. “Scottish tartans are a wonderful symbol of cohesion: each plaid, with its blend of different colours and patterns represents a family, a region, an organization, or a nation.”
In 2006, after Matheson had launched his campaign for a national tartan, the Globe and Mail reported that documents released under Access to Information showed federal Heritage officials were giving the proposal serious consideration.
One memo noted that Weiser’s Maple Leaf Tartan had been “greeted with wide acclaim” in the 1960s and was already considered an unofficial national tartan by many Canadians.
Briefing notes indicated that “the use of tartan by non-Scottish or Celtic peoples has dramatically expanded around the world” and reflected a “more multicultural reality.”
But the documents also contained a caution that “the notion of a national tartan might have little resonance with Canada’s multicultural communities, given its traditional association with Scottish and British heritage.”
According to the website of Canadian Heritage, 11 of the 13 provinces and territories have their own official tartans, while Quebec has popular design that is widely — though unofficially — used to symbolize the province. Nunavut is not mentioned on the site.
The Canadian government also recognizes the maple tree as the country’s “national arboreal emblem,” the beaver as its official animal symbol and red and white as Canada’s official colours.
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