Tartan Day (Scottish Gaelic: Là an Tartain) is a celebration of Scottish heritage and the cultural contributions of Scottish and Scottish-diaspora figures of history. The name refers to tartan, a patterned woollen cloth associated with Scotland. The event originated in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1987. It spread to other communities of the Scottish diaspora, such as Australia, the United States and New Zealand, and to Scotland itself, in the 1990s to 2000s. Tartan Day is held on April 6, the date on which the Declaration of Arbroath was signed in 1320. It is celebrated in Canada (since 1987, officially and nationally since 2010), the United States (since 1997, with increasing recognition in 1998, 2005, and 2008 as National Tartan Day), and Argentina (unofficially from 2006).
The same date is used for locally official Tartan Days in Aberdeen and Angus, Scotland (from 2004). In the former, it has since shifted into the charity fundraiser KiltWalk, now running in four Scottish cities. In the latter, home to the town of Arbroath, the day is increasingly renamed Declaration Day, since 2016, and associated with events commemorating the Declaration of Arbroath and other aspects of Scottish history.
International Tartan Day is held in various states of Australia (from 1989, with varying levels of official recognition) and in New Zealand (unofficially since 2008) on July 1, the anniversary of the 1782 repeal of the Dress Act 1746, which had banned the male wearing of Highland dress in much of Scotland. Related unofficial events in France (since 2002) have been held on varying days of the year, often also celebrating Breton culture.
Tartan Day has expanded into an entire Tartan Week in New York City and Angus, and into multi-day events in some other locations, including Washington, DC. The name Scotland Week has also been promoted in Scotland. The events typically have parades of pipe bands, Highland dancing, and other Scottish-themed activities.
On March 9, 1986, a "Tartan Day" to promote Scottish heritage in Canada was proposed at a meeting of the Federation of Scottish Clans in Nova Scotia (the name of which is Latin for 'New Scotland'); the first event was held April 6, 1987. After a period of adoption by provinces and territories of Canada, a National Tartan Day of April 6 was declared in 2010.
In Australia, wearing tartan on July 1 has been encouraged since 1989. The day has been promoted as International Tartan Day in Australia since 1996 and has been formally recognized by some states, but not at a national level.
The first (unofficial) national-level Tartan Day in the US was observed an April 6, 1997, growing from county- and state-level observance inspired by Canadian events. The holiday was approved by the US Senate in 1998, the House of Representatives in 2005, and the President in 2008.
Similar events in other countries appear to have been inspired by those in Canada, Australia, and the US, and date from the 2000s or later.
Argentina has around 100,000 people of Scottish descent, the largest such community outside the English-speaking world. The Tartan Day parade of Scottish porteños was inaugurated in Buenos Aires on 6 April 2006 and is organized by the Scottish Argentine Society every year. A symbolic key to the gate of Arbroath's Abbey is carried to mark the date in 1320 that inspired this celebration.
Three million Australians are either Scottish or of Scottish descent. International Tartan Day in Australia is celebrated on a regional basis in most states on 1 July (or by some community organizations on the nearest Sunday), the anniversary of the Repeal Proclamation of 1782 annulling the Act of Proscription 1746 and its Dress Act, which had made wearing Highland dress (by males) an offense in the Highlands, punishable by up to seven years' penal transportation. According to Scottish House secretary Moyna Scotland, the tendency to disguise Scottish associations was mirrored in Australia: "Scots did what they were told to do when they came to Australia, assimilate and integrate, and they almost disappeared"; consequently, one aim of Tartan Day is to help Australians reconnect with their Scottish ancestry. A tartan revival started in Scotland in 1822, and now many of the Australian states, and the Commonwealth of Australia itself, have their own tartans.
In 1989, the Scottish Australian Heritage Council began to encourage Australians to wear tartan on July 1, when more than half a million Australians gather for a celebration of Scottish heritage, combining nostalgia with Australian citizenship ceremonies, and fund-raising for charitable causes such as drought assistance. Australians without a family tartan are invited to wear the royal Stewart tartan or the military tartan of the Black Watch. Tartan articles worn on the day include hats, ties, and socks. There are many pipe band associations in both Australia and New Zealand, some originating in disbanded Second World War army battalions, and almost 30 heritage events in Australia alone. Some clans, notably the McLeods of South Australia, come together in private events to honor their chief, recite Robert Burns, consume haggis, and take part in Highland dancing. A butcher in Maclean, New South Wales, "the Scottish town in Australia", reportedly celebrates the day by selling haggisburgers.
Since 2001, the Scottish Australian Heritage Council and Australian branch of the Scottish National Party have petitioned the Government of Australia in the capital, Canberra, for federal recognition of International Tartan Day to celebrate the Scottish contribution to Australian history, including the influence of Scottish radicalism on the trade-union movement and the Labor Party, and Australia's allegedly "egalitarian and meritocratic" society. In 2008, Scottish culture minister Linda Fabiani floated a proposal to expand the Australian event into an official Scotland Week as part of the Scottish government's international business strategy.
With high Scottish ancestry, New Zealand unofficially celebrates International Tartan Day on 1 July each year, since 2008.
About 15.1% or 4.7 million Canadians claim Scottish descent.
Tartan Day (French: Journée du Tartan) in Canada, first held in Nova Scotia in 1987, originated with a proposal by Bill Crowell and Jean MacKeracher-Watson at a meeting of the Federation of Scottish Clans in Nova Scotia on March 9, 1986.
MacKeracher-Watson, president of the Clan Lamont Society of Canada, petitioned provincial legislatures to recognize April 6 as Tartan Day. The first such proclamation was by Nova Scotia in April 1987. On December 19, 1991, in response to action initiated by the Clans & Scottish Societies of Canada, the Ontario Legislature passed a resolution proclaiming 6 April as Tartan Day, following the example of some other Canadian provinces. Tartan Day has since been proclaimed by all the provincial legislatures. In 2007, Peter Stoffer introduced a private member's bill for "An Act respecting a Tartan Day". Progress of the bill was interrupted by the 2008 election; resubmitted after the election, it was unsuccessful.
Canada declared National Tartan Day in October 2010, the first official national event being held in 2011. In the national capital, Ottawa, Ontario, an annual Gathering of the Clans takes place each year, usually on April 6 or the Sunday nearest to it, on Parliament Hill at noon with pipes, drums, and dancing hosted by the Sons of Scotland Pipe Band, Canada's oldest civilian pipe band. The 2023 celebrations were on April 23, and were the 15th year that the pipe band has hosted the event. Canada's official tartan, the Maple Leaf tartan, was designed in 1964 and became an official national symbol in March 2011 ahead of Tartan Day.
In 2015, Minister of Canadian Heritage Shelly Glover issued a statement in support of National Tartan Day and the Maple Leaf tartan, and tied the event to celebration that year of the 200th anniversary of the birth of the first prime minister of Canada, Sir John A. Macdonald (born in Scotland), and the 50th anniversary of the current flag of Canada, among other events. Glover wrote of "the contributions of the Scots and their descendants to the social fabric of our country" and "the historical links between Scotland and Canada".