Find your Scottish roots, show pride

While we celebrated all that is Irish during the month of March, April is Scottish-American Heritage Month, a month where we highlight Scottish heritage and the contributions and impacts Scottish-American have left on the U.S. society.

According to NationalDay.com/, Scottish-American Heritage Month is important because it honors the oldest group to live in America, the Scottish. This month, we recognize how the Scottish have helped to develop our American ideals since the beginning.

Scottish-American Heritage Month has its roots in the celebration of Tartan Day, a signed declaration of Arbroath that took place on April 6, 1320. Although it was first celebrated in Canada in the 1980’s, by April 6, 1998, the United States had recognized Tartan Day, since over 6 million Americans claimed to have had Scottish ancestry. (Wikipedia)  Tartan Day was officially recognized by the United States House of Representatives on March 9, 2005 and, on April 4, 2008, April 6 was proclaimed as National Tartan Day by President George W. Bush.

According to www.highlandtitles.com many Scottish people were influential in religious and educational spheres, in politics, and in trade. Scottish people also established universities, colleges, and other educational establishments such as Princeton University. Believe it or not, according to www.scotland.org, out of 46 of our United States Presidents, at least 34 have some Scottish roots.

Many modern inventions that we have today actually came from Scotland or from Scottish-Americans. According to www.scotland.org some of these include televisions, telephones, MRI scanners, refrigerators, toasters and daily disposable contact lenses.

So, now that you’ve learned about the impact of the Scottish population in the United States, perhaps you, too, will choose to celebrate this month. If you look around, you can find some interesting activities and events to take part in during Scottish-American Heritage Month. Many cities hold Scottish-American events or parades, or provide the food, music, and culture of Scotland. Woodland traditionally hosts a Highland Games festival in April, although this year it has been postponed and will resume in 2022. Instead, you can represent your Scottish pride by wearing your family’s tartan, which is like a signature pattern, or simply don a kilt or other garment in a tartan that suits your liking.

In America, the number of people of Scottish descent is estimated to be around 20 to 25 million and Scottish-Irish population is about 27 to 30 million people, up to 10% of the total United States population! (Wikipedia)