April SIGnificant Notes
During April I encourage each of you to focus your attention and support towards TARTAN DAY on April 6. This is the day to wear your tartan and help others to appreciate the important historical contribution Scottish Americans have made to our country. Although the association will not be sponsoring a specific activity on that day, we do invite everyone to join us on April 23 in SLC for our annual Tartan Ball where we can celebrate with dancing, food, and great company! Check our Tartan Ball link for details.
For those of you not acquainted with this special day, I’ve included some excerpts from the National Tartan Day web page for a quick review of why and how this day originated:
On 6 April 1320 the "Scottish Declaration of Independence" was signed by the assembled Scottish nobility in Arbroath Abbey. It was a letter from supporters of Robert the Bruce to the Pope, seeking papal recognition of Scotland. According to Senator Lott's resolution, the Declaration of Arbroath was an influence on the signers of the American Declaration of Independence. It was a radical 14th Century document that introduced principles such as the king's responsibility to serve the people and the people's right to replace him should he become tyrannical.
The Declaration was an inspiration for future generations and became the basis of the American Declaration of Independence. Two signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, John Witherspoon and John Wilson, were Scots and other Founders had Scottish heritage. President Woodrow Wilson once said, "Every line of strength in American history is a line colored with Scottish blood."
National Tartan Day was created to celebrate the broad influence of Scottish Enlightenment philosophy on the founding fathers as well as the contributions of Scots and Scottish-Americans to the development of the United States. Tartan Day was observed on April 6, 1997, for the first time in U.S. history. On March 9, 2005, the House of Representatives unanimously adopted House Resolution 41, which designates April 6th of each year as "National Tartan Day.”
(A National Tartan Day web notation offers special thanks to Ms. Duncan MacDonald of the Caledonian Foundation for providing some of this information.)
During April I encourage each of you to focus your attention and support towards TARTAN DAY on April 6. This is the day to wear your tartan and help others to appreciate the important historical contribution Scottish Americans have made to our country. Although the association will not be sponsoring a specific activity on that day, we do invite everyone to join us on April 23 in SLC for our annual Tartan Ball where we can celebrate with dancing, food, and great company! Check our Tartan Ball link for details.
For those of you not acquainted with this special day, I’ve included some excerpts from the National Tartan Day web page for a quick review of why and how this day originated:
On 6 April 1320 the "Scottish Declaration of Independence" was signed by the assembled Scottish nobility in Arbroath Abbey. It was a letter from supporters of Robert the Bruce to the Pope, seeking papal recognition of Scotland. According to Senator Lott's resolution, the Declaration of Arbroath was an influence on the signers of the American Declaration of Independence. It was a radical 14th Century document that introduced principles such as the king's responsibility to serve the people and the people's right to replace him should he become tyrannical.
The Declaration was an inspiration for future generations and became the basis of the American Declaration of Independence. Two signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, John Witherspoon and John Wilson, were Scots and other Founders had Scottish heritage. President Woodrow Wilson once said, "Every line of strength in American history is a line colored with Scottish blood."
National Tartan Day was created to celebrate the broad influence of Scottish Enlightenment philosophy on the founding fathers as well as the contributions of Scots and Scottish-Americans to the development of the United States. Tartan Day was observed on April 6, 1997, for the first time in U.S. history. On March 9, 2005, the House of Representatives unanimously adopted House Resolution 41, which designates April 6th of each year as "National Tartan Day.”
(A National Tartan Day web notation offers special thanks to Ms. Duncan MacDonald of the Caledonian Foundation for providing some of this information.)
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