Kinnaird Bagpipes - Kirkin’ o’ The Tartan

April 2007

Featured Article

Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan After the Battle of Culloden on April 16, 1746, the English Parliament banned wearing tartan, speaking Gaelic, Scottish music, dancing, or playing the pipes. Any person caught doing anything of these could be shot on sight, arrested, or exiled to the colonies. This ban lasted for 36 years.

Legend says the Highlanders devised a plan to hide a piece of tartan in their clothing during church. At a set time during the service, they would hold the tartan and bless it. When the Scots were forced to fight for the British Army, it is said that the women would take a piece of their tartan to the Kirk (church) to be blessed and to pray for protection of their clan. Thus came the Scottish celebration known as the Kirkin’ O’ the Tartan.

Since 1941, the Kirkin’ O’ the Tartan has been practiced throughout Canada and the U.S. Instead of hiding the tartan, during the ceremony a representative of each clan place pieces of tartan on the church alter to be blessed.

The Kirkin’ O’ the Tartan occurs on Reformation Sunday, the Sunday closest to Oct. 31, and in April.

Tartan Did You Know?

• When the tartan was first made, its dyes were taken from the vegetables grown in the families garden. This signified the diligence, labour, and hard work that the Scots put into their lives.
• With the Proscription Act of 1746, it became illegal for Scots to wear their proud family tartan, and play the bagpipes, both of which were integral to their identity.
• Up until the mid 19th century, highland tartans were not associated with specific clans, but rather with the regions or district the family lived in.