Author Login | Popular Articles | RSS Feeds | Sitemap

Home | Shopping-and-product-reviews | Fashion-style


Scottish Weddings - Whose Tartan Is It Anyway ?

By: Sreve Dickson

Much has been written, and less understood, about Scottish tartan and who should wear which tartan or indeed who is entitled to wear whatever tartan. I would like to discuss this point and give my opinion of the answer to this problem and hopefully shed a little light on the area.

The Scottish nation has been going for quite a wee while now and it has successfully spread its wings to many distant corners of the world. It still seems to have kept a lot of its traditions and especially with evenings like Burns Suppers, continues to flourish well even outside its borders; in fact some would contend it flourishes better outside its borders!!

One such Scottish tradition, which is recognised throughout the world, is tartan. It is so well recognised that there is even a “Tartan Day” in America which was on the 6th April this year. I realise that there is a debate, nae argument, that tartan was invented by the Victorians (I will debate this at another time ), but the basis of tartans lie back in the past with the clan structure.

Clans were like big gangs. Not that I am in anyway trying to suggest that they were violent thugs, that is far from the truth, but they were the bygone eras’ way of people sorting themselves into families that could depend on each other for comfort and succour. Each clan had their own identification in a clan crest (taken from their coat of arms) and clan colours, tartan.

Technically there were only about 90 actual clans that existed, that is 90 families that were big enough to exist as a clan in their own right. The confusion comes when people think, “Well there are more than 90 names in Scotland”. Yes you are quite right. I do not have the latest figure but there certainly is far more than 90 !!!!

Back in the clan era families that were too small to be a clan in their own right would approach the local clan chief and basically ask for his protection. If that protection was forthcoming the family became a “sept” of the main clan. As a sept of the clan they would wear the clan’s colours and emblems to show their allegiance.

In fact a great example of this was at Glencoe. If I asked you how many MacDonalds were massacred by the Campbells, what would you say? 20?....30?....150?....1000?

Answer any of these and you are wrong. The technical answer is:

NONE!!!!!!

Bet you win the pub quiz now!!!

They were all MacIans a SEPT of Clan MacDonald from Glencoe and were all wearing the MacDonald clan colours and crests so in that respect they were taken as MacDonalds.

Another example of this would be my family. My family name is Dickson. The Dickson’s were a clan sept of Clan Keith and to that end I wear the Clan Keith tartan and wear the clan crest.

There are, however, many Scottish names that were not associated with any particular clan. This is easily covered as there are many “District” tartans that can be worn.

So basically to find which tartan you should wear just trace back to see what clan you were affiliated with and you have an answer. Tartan is your clan or family colours that they use to identify themselves.

Now that’s the traditional part. There is of course the new way. Wear what you like. There are so many tartans available now that many people are choosing a tartan that they just like. There are many tartans like “Pride of Scotland”, “Heather Mist”, “Strathisla” just to name a few which have been invented in the recent years. They can be worn by anybody that cares to wear them and they are a wonderful addition to anybody’s wardrobe.

If you need any advice about Scottish weddings or indeed about clan affiliations or anything else Scottish, don’t hesitate to contact us and we will do our best to help.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
http://www.thetartanbox.com

| Print | Ezine Ready | |

Please Rate this Article

Recent Fashion-Style Articles

  • Business Gifts Tips to Advertise Yourself By: Sett - Advertising is a means of survival for any business. Even if you have a business with a big turnover, you need to advertise in order to retain your clients. You may find several competitors popping up daily with several promotional offers which may serve as a blow to your business. Imagine yourself doing business for last many years only to loose some clientele to some new business that if offering some cheap offers. You feel bad. It is not that clients do not like quality. But people have the tendency to try out new things.
    Tags: shopping-and-product-reviews, fashion-style, promotional items, promotional conference folders, promotional pens
  • Promotional Gifts A Protective Umbrella for your Product By: Jerry - You may be considering a promotional campaign to boost your sales. You may want to put up some ad hoardings across the city for more exposure. If you are not sure how much will this work, you can try the personal message carriers. They are more effective and serve many purposes. They act as a gift for people you care. They act as a reminder to those people. They also act as your personal message carriers. You may have to consider few things to achieve the maximum from this endeavor.
    Tags: fashion-style, promotional gifts, promotional pens, printed mugs, printed conference folders
  • Wristbands are very helpful By: "Brayan Peter" - Families that are planning for a trip along the seaside can be sure that their children are safe on the beach thanks to a tag your toddler scheme being operated by councils in England. This scheme has helped a lot to the councils because they can find lost children very quickly and bring them back to their parents. Councils have recorded a drop in the number of lost children on their beaches since introducing tag your toddler wristbands.
    Tags: shopping-and-product-reviews, fashion-style, silicone wristbands, custom silicone bracelets, rubber bracelets
  • Promotional Pens Writing Business? By: Stagen - So you decided to gift your employees some promotional items. What to look for? The first thing that comes to your mind will be the cost. Thinking in terms in cost may make you consider something that is cheap and good, for instance, some chocolate? But as soon as the chocolate goes down the mouth, your employee forgets the gift. Most commonly, people look for something that stays for a longer time. As you are about to invest in the promotional items, you may also want some advertising.
    Tags: shopping-and-product-reviews, fashion-style, promotional items, business gifts, printed umbrellas
  • Promotional Umbrellas Selling In Rain By: Radie - Umbrellas can also serve as an excellent gift. People use them in the rains. People also use them in the sun. They also are a fashion accessory. Whats more? You find umbrellas as soon as you enter a home. This means more visibility. This is why umbrellas are a better gift idea too. Promotional umbrellas are the same magic items which you can find anywhere. But in order to help umbrellas serve as a business gift, you will want to find some decent shapes, sizes and colors.
    Tags: shopping-and-product-reviews, fashion-style, promotional items, promotional umbrellas, business gifts
  • Promotional Folders Advantage Gifts By: Stephanie - Marketing by way of promotional items has been the trend since centuries. Earlier people used to market themselves and their territories. Now they use different promotional items to advertise their brand. If you are looking for some innovative promotional items, you can visit the online store at the site. These people have a range of products that you may find good for your business. One such item is the conference folder. These are the folders that you see in the meetings. Dont you find them attractive? Not only attractive, they serve as a good advertising agent.
    Tags: shopping-and-product-reviews, fashion-style, promotional items, business gifts, conference folders
  • Promotional Pens Writing For Success By: Cadence - Promotional items should serve dual purpose. While purchasing a promotional gift for your staff or clients, you may also want to advertise your product. Not only should your gifts show that you care, but should also offer more exposure to your name into the market. Promotional pens are the most convenient way to advertise your brand. You give away pens as gifts which will be used by the people who receive them. Not only are those people satisfied, but they also project your name.
    Tags: shopping-and-product-reviews, fashion-style, promotional items, business gifts, promotional pens
  • Conference Folders Your Business Boosters By: Shakir - If you want some special way to show that you care for your staff, you may want to use some special promotional items. You can use conference folders. Conference folders are the requirements of every office and you can make use of this demand. Conference folders also come cheap and will not be a burden on your budget. They also serve as good advertising item. Your company logo shows out whenever your staff carries the folder across the city. You can find some good folders at the site.
    Tags: shopping-and-product-reviews, fashion-style, promotional conference folders, promotional items, conference folders
  • Bag your clients with the conference bags By: Linda Hayworth - While advertising is extremely vital for each and every organization, the medium of advertising is more important. Many business houses suffer because of wrongly planned advertising campaigns. The best way to launch a successful advertising campaign is by targeted advertising. You know your clients and you also know that they meet with like minded people. After all, birds of a feather flock together. If you publish books, your clients must have a passion for reading. It goes without saying that their friends too will share their passion for reading.
    Tags: fashion-style, business gifts, promotional conference bags
  • Promotional Umbrellas Keeps out the rain while bringing in the business By: Allan Green - Anyone who is running a business knows how much it costs to advertise. Even a 3 lines classified costs a good number of Dollars. The smart businessman uses promotional gifts to his advantage. Not only are the prices per unit low, the viewership is maintained throughout the year. While one will read the newspaper and dump it the next day, nobody will dump a colorful umbrella. Just imagine the scene where a petite company secretary is walking across the streets, holding a colorful umbrella. People are bound to notice the lissome figure of the lady.
    Tags: shopping-and-product-reviews, fashion-style, promotional items, promotional umbrellas

Today's Hot Articles

Search Ebay

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!


Submit Your link to the Open Link Directory Project

Copyright 2005-2008 MJE Sales, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Proud member of the ArticleCkr Search Network Search Network!
ArticleSnatch.com is free for both publishers and authors to use and is supported entirely from advertising revenue.
Use of our service is protected by our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.