National
Tartan Day Approved!
OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Oct.
21, 2010) - The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage
and Official Languages, announced today that the Government of Canada
will now officially recognize April 6 as Tartan Day.
"A
tartan represents a clan, a family, and a community, and is an
enduring symbol of Scotland that is cherished by Canadians of
Scottish ancestry," said Minister Moore. "Many Canadian
provinces and other countries already celebrate Tartan Day. As well,
through Tartan Day, Canadians will have an opportunity to learn more
about the various cultures that comprise Canadian society."
Tartan
Day originated in the late 1980s in Nova Scotia, where it was
declared an official day by the provincial government. It then spread
across the country, with many provinces joining in. This marks the
first time the Day has been recognized by the federal
government.
"By officially recognizing this Day, we
encourage Canadians all across the country to celebrate the
contributions that over four million Canadians of Scottish heritage
continue to make to the foundation of our country," said Senator
John Wallace, who recently introduced a bill in the Senate in support
of nationally declaring Tartan Day.
In Canada, Tartan Day is
celebrated on April 6, the anniversary of the Declaration of
Arbroath, the Scottish declaration of independence. Tartan Day
celebrations typically include parades of pipe bands, Highland
dancing and sports, and other Scottish-themed events.
This
news release is available on the Internet at
www.canadianheritage.gc.ca
under Newsroom.
The Following article is from Grip Fast
Volume 4, Issue 2, March 2011.
The Newsletter of Clan Leslie
April 6th is Tartan Day in Canada and the
United States. This date was chosen as it is the date that the
Declaration of Arborath was signed. This Declaration was Scotland's
declaration of independence from England. John Prebble, in his book
The Lion of the North,
stated that "The Declaration of Arborath
was and has been unequalled in its eloquent plea for the liberty of
man. From the darkness of medieval minds it shone a torch upon future
struggles which its signatories could not have seen or understood."
Prebble noted that there are two points that make this
declaration "the most important document
in Scottish history":
"Firstly,
it set the will and the wishes of the people above the King."
In other words, there was no "divine
right of kings." That kings served the
people, and that kings could be made by selection and not necessarily
by birth. "Secondly, the manifesto
affirmed the nation's independence in a way no battle could, and
justified it with a truth that is beyond nation and race. Man has a
right to freedom and a duty to defend it with his life."
I
will quote from page 27 of Grip Fast: The
Leslies in History by Alexander Leslie
Klieforth who wrote most eloquently:
"In
1320 eight earls and 31 of the great barons and major clergy of
Scotland, among them [Baron] Andrew Leslie, sent a letter to Pope
John XXII, known as the Declaration of Arborath. It is a
revolutionary assertion by a nation of people of their desire for
freedom and the right to choose their own government and is a
statement of the leadership of Scotland about their country and its
aspirations, and as a political document it ranks in purpose and
power of language with the American Declaration of Independence. In
ringing Latin prose it set forth certain claims and affirmations. It
asks the Pope to urge the King of England to desist from his designs
on their nation, to 'leave us Scots in peace, who live in this poor
little Scotland . . . and covet nothing but our own.' "
It
states the will of the people for independence:
'As
long as but a hundred of us remain alive never will we be under any
condition be brought under English rule.
It is in truth, not for
glory, nor riches, nor honour that we are fighting, but for freedom -
for that alone which no honest man give up but with life
itself.'
David Leslie White, Chieftain
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