INTERNATIONAL TARTANS

INTERNATIONAL TARTANS

TARTAN DAY

Tartan Day was conceived in the United States Senate in 1998 in recognition of the valuable contributions made by Scots to the foundation, character and prosperity of the United States. The date was selected to commemorate 6^th April 1320 when the Declaration of Arbroath initiating an independent Scotland was signed and presented to the Pope. The Declaration of Arbroath was the inspiration behind the Declaration of Independence of the American colonies. United States Senate Resolution 1555 was adopted April 6^th as United States National Tartan Day in perpetuity.

Today there are said to be at least 40,000,000 Americans of Scots ancestry and according to data available from US Census 2000, there may be as many as 60,000,000. Statistics aside the importance is the undeniable fact that many entrepreneurs, industrialists, inventors and politicians over the past hundreds of years who achieved remarkable successes across America came from Scotland; Andrew Carnegie, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Jefferson, Woodrow Wilson, Wayne W. Hayes, Neil Armstrong and John Muir are just a few of the many famous Scots who have made America great.

Over the years Tartan Day in the US has grown in cultural and political significance with events now taking place in nearly every state of the union and in countries throughout the rest of the world; Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, France, New Zealand, Indonesia, and, of course, Scotland. One of the larger events takes place in New York City where as many as 1,000 pipers parade up 6^th Avenue as an extraordinary feature of the celebration.

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