Clan societies in UK

[figheadair]

I know that the vast majority of people in Scotland aren't descended from a clan and wouldn't care if they were. That the vast majority don't really wear kilts besides a hired one for a wedding or the tartan army. But there are orgs like the Clan Mackenzie Society of Scotland & the UK. So someone there must be interested. I am just wondering about the few who are interested. In what ways are a clan society in the UK different from one in the US, Canada, or Australia? Less regular kilt wearing I'm guessing. Only wearing clan tartan if any probably. I always want to know how things are, not the romanticized version.

Just like the majority of the world, genealogical descent in Scotland is not a narrow, linear progression. What makes you think that most people are not descended from a clan, i. e. have some Highland blood in their liniage?

Clan Societies are an irrelevance for most people here as they live here and don't feel the need to demonstrate a link in the way the Scots diaspora do. Those that do belong to a Clan Society are usually more interested in their history but, it's not quite that simple. Ask most Scots and they would say clans were a thing of the past, most would not know that Clan Societies exist and certainly would not belong to one as their are not seen as relevant or necessary.

Similarly, people do not need to wear a kilt to identify as Scottish, they do so when the situation/occasion is appropriate.

I am heavily involved with the historical side of tartan and Highland Dress, am a member of the Royal Celtic Society, a Trustee of The Scottish Tartans Authority and similar organisations but not a clan society. I wear a kilt more than most but am equally comfortable in shorts most of the year when working in the garden or climbing the hills and don't feel any less Scottish.