Answer to Black Watch spat question?

[macwilkin]

Oh for sure, I know about the Gordon's black buttons, black line in gold lace, and black line in the gold officer's epaulettes.

But people have an unfortunate tendency to seek hidden meanings and bogus traditions in everything.

Good point; witness the relatively recent trend of the symbolism of folding a US flag, which has no basis in history. We used to hear that all the time at the historic site where I worked; our Chief Ranger, who was an Indian Wars "buff", had researched the topic and found that before the 1930s, the flag was simply folded and placed on a shelf in the post armory...

The Kirkin' of the Tartans legend also comes to mind.

T.