Scottish Traditions

[Jock Scot]

@Jock - I can't tell where Campbell is living now, but by his post it looks that he is speaking more to what is done here in the US to observe our heritage. I have to agree with you, for the most part my Scottish cousins think us a bit strange for what we do.

Not that it matters, but I thought the OP was asking us locals to chip in.

[Cygnus]

Do we? I am not at all sure that we do!

Perhaps we locals take things for granted, or perhaps we are too close to it all to notice if it is a tradition.

I would guess it's a bit of all three (i.e., not having the tradition, taking them for granted, not noticing).

I'd say it's pretty common for traditions to be more strictly observed and celebrated when people are living away from their homeland - it's a way to remember where you've come from and the people that came before, and that's the very reason I'd like to have (at least a few) Scottish traditions for my family.

[Riverkilt]

You might consider grumbling.

My grandfather was a grumbler. My father grumbled a lot. I've become proficient at grumbling. The taciturn Scot image.

And, confronting authority - a tradition of strong independence.

[piperdbh]

You might consider grumbling.

My grandfather was a grumbler. My father grumbled a lot. I've become proficient at grumbling. The taciturn Scot image.

And, confronting authority - a tradition of strong independence.

So that's where I get it. I thought it was just my personlity, and now I find out it's genetic.

Storytelling is a tradition of the Scots. Tell family stories, stories from your youth, stories from your friends, and feel free to emebellish as needed.
From what I've read here and other places, walking is a tradition/pastime of Scots. Take your family for long walks and point out the names of trees, give names to rocks and hills, and above all, encourage your children's imaginations.

[ctbuchanan]

I almost forgot -- you don't mention your children's age and gender. But both my girls did traditional dancing for many years - a great way to get into the music and traditions. And of course if they are musically inclined there are the myriad of choices in that arena as well.

[Jock Scot]

I would guess it's a bit of all three (i.e., not having the tradition, taking them for granted, not noticing).

I'd say it's pretty common for traditions to be more strictly observed and celebrated when people are living away from their homeland - it's a way to remember where you've come from and the people that came before, and that's the very reason I'd like to have (at least a few) Scottish traditions for my family.

I think you are right. I know of few Scots that go to Burns dinners, I know few Scots that actually like haggis, I know few Scots that wear tartan at Christmas or Easter, I have my doubts that many Scots know when St Andrews day is. Kirking the tartan? What's that? Scottish Country Dancing?-----You must be joking!

I am not saying that no Scot eats haggis, for example. What I am saying is that not all of us do, or observe the other things mentioned and you may be surprised of the numbers that don't. Quite often when reading the posts here I am astounded at the knowledge of Scotland by some of the members and quietly amused and bemused by those that think they do! That is fine as it shows an interest in Scotland and invariably it is well intentioned.

A family tradition, started in 1919 by my Grand father and we still carry it on, is that on Christmas Day every one in the house drinks a toast to "absent friends". I doubt if that is done as a national tradition though.

We have our traditions for sure, but until they are pointed out to us, by people away from Scotland we probably don't notice them.

[Tobus]

You might consider grumbling.

My grandfather was a grumbler. My father grumbled a lot. I've become proficient at grumbling. The taciturn Scot image.

Heh, that's where I get it too. I've done it all my life - it's in my DNA!

Also, in keeping with Scottish tradition, one should learn to be 'dour'*.

* This was the term specifically referenced in the book "The Scotch-Irish: a Social History" when talking about the general reputation of Scots in the years before many of them made the move to Ulster. Apparently back in the 1500s and 1600s everybody considered Scots to be dour, allegedly due to their fervent adherence to religious scruples. I thought it was amusing, so I've been working on being dour, much to the chagrin of everyone around me!

Joking aside, if I had young children (I only have step-kids which are all grown), I'd want to invest the time in learning Scottish Gaelic as a family. It would be pretty cool for the family as a whole to learn it and speak it at home (or even in public when conversing amongst themselves). Not that this is much of a "tradition", but it could go a LONG way towards helping the kids learn and retain Scottish influence, and would be a special bond that you share only within the family.

[Cygnus]

You might consider grumbling.

My grandfather was a grumbler. My father grumbled a lot. I've become proficient at grumbling. The taciturn Scot image.

And, confronting authority - a tradition of strong independence.

Haha! I should share that with my wife; she's always getting after me for being a "grumbler"!

So that's where I get it. I thought it was just my personlity, and now I find out it's genetic.

Storytelling is a tradition of the Scots. Tell family stories, stories from your youth, stories from your friends, and feel free to embellish as needed.
From what I've read here and other places, walking is a tradition/pastime of Scots. Take your family for long walks and point out the names of trees, give names to rocks and hills, and above all, encourage your children's imaginations.

Again, those are all things we already do - must be genetic, eh?

I almost forgot -- you don't mention your children's age and gender. But both my girls did traditional dancing for many years - a great way to get into the music and traditions. And of course if they are musically inclined there are the myriad of choices in that arena as well.

I have a three-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son. My daughter loved the highland dancing at the local Scottish Festival this year, so I'll certainly look into that.
My family really stresses the importance of music; I play the clarinet, saxophone, tuba, bassoon (reluctantly), and am working on the bagpipes and guitar at the moment. I think music is an important thing to learn and provides a safe and acceptable emotional outlet, so my kids have a number of toy instruments.

I think you are right. I know of few Scots that go to Burns dinners, I know few Scots that actually like haggis, I know few Scots that wear tartan at Christmas or Easter, I have my doubts that many Scots know when St Andrews day is. Kirking the tartan? What's that?

I am not saying that no Scot eats haggis, for example. What I am saying is that not all of us do, or observe the other things mentioned and you may be surprised of the numbers that don't. Quite often when reading the posts here I am astounded at the knowledge of Scotland by some of the members and quietly amused and bemused by those that think they do! That is fine as it shows an interest in Scotland and invariably it is well intentioned.

A family tradition, started in 1919 by my Grand father and we still carry it on, is that on Christmas Day every one in the house drinks a toast to "absent friends". I doubt if that is done as a national tradition though.

We have our traditions for sure, but until they are pointed out to us, by people away from Scotland we probably don't notice them.

I like that tradition, Jock (though we don't drink - that tradition, sadly, led to a lot of troubles in my family's past and I refuse to let it do the same to me and mine). I'm not surprised to hear about the observation of holidays and traditions in Scotland, especially after reading your posts about how many Scots are actually wearing the kilt these days!

EDIT: I didn't mean to sound condescending at all to those who drink responsibly - various family members of mine have not and, for this and various other reasons, I simply don't drink. I can still make and drink a toast, just not with alcohol in my glass!

[Lyle1]

You can do a Google search to find discussions of "Scottish traditions", and choose what you think will suit you and your children. But remember, your children will only continue those that they enjoy. You can't force them to like what they don't like.

Being separated from family for most holidays, my wife and I have created our own holiday traditions. We eat foods that our families ate when we were children, but only those that we like! My wife is the only family member of her generation who still uses her grandmother's recipes for traditional holiday dishes. We use holiday decorations that are meaningful to us, and very few of them are family heirlooms; we bought what we liked. It is always nice to unpack decorations that hold memories, and it is also nice to be able to pack them up again when the holiday is over.

Look for Scottish recipes that your family will like and serve them on special days. Scotch eggs would be good for picnics, as would shortbread and jam tarts. These are also foods that children could help prepare. Buy some holiday decorations with a Celtic theme; you could even buy each child a Celtic themed ornament for the Christmas tree every year, and they cold take them with them when they leave home.

Buy your children books of Scottish stories, and read them with them. Talk to them about where your family came from and why. Show them on Google maps, and look up facts about the area. Find out what life might have been like for your ancestors.

[auld argonian]

Having grown up in a neighborhood where the descendants of Irish immigrants predominated, I have some reservations about how one defines "traditions" and to what degree the great-grandchildren of the original emigres should try to observe them. I've seen some stuff that has been taken so far off the road from reality that it would knock your socks off.

Probably because time moves on and things change. What do they call that party game where a statement is whispered from person to person until it emerges at the end of the line as something completely different? I guess I feel that way about traditions...they change with the times in the homeland while the members of the diaspora try to keep them in the same form as they were in the ancestors' days. Imagine someone getting off the boat from Eastern Europe dressed like what they think a cowboy should look like and expecting cattle drives and saloons and six-guns everywhere and calling everybody "pardner"...(okay...Texas is, as usual, excepted from that statement).

Better to expose the kids to the history and contributions of Scots and hope that the importance of that takes root and inspires them.

I fall back on my old favorite story:

When the Jews of a certain Polish village faced hard times, the Rabbi went out to a secret place in the woods, lit a fire and said a prayer asking the Lord to help the people of his congregation. The trouble passed.

Years later, the people of the congregation again faced some hard times and the successor of the original Rabbi realized that he knew most of the ritual that his predecessor had followed in such circumstances but that the old rabbi had never revealed the secret place in the woods to him.

This Rabbi said, "Lord, I don't know the secret place in the woods but I'll light a fire and say the prayer and hope that you'll help the people out."

So he did this and the troubles, once again, passed.

More time elapses. Again the village is faced with difficulties. Now there is yet another new Rabbi. This Rabbi doesn't know how to light the fire.

"Lord," he says, "I don't know the secret place in the woods and I can't light the fire but I will say the prayer."

And once again, the difficulties are resolved and the village goes back to normal.

Many years go by and...you guessed it...these people are beset by troubles like you wouldn't believe. They go to the fella who is the current Rabbi and ask him to do whatever his predecessors did to ask God to get them through the crisis.

And this fella realizes that he not only doesn't know where the secret place in the woods is and doesn't know how to light the fire but he doesn't even know the words to the prayer...

So he goes to his room and sits down and says, "Lord...I don't know the place in the woods and I can't light the fire and I don't know the words to the prayer...but I remember the story..."

And the troubles passed because the ritual wasn't anywhere near as important as the story was.

Just my long winded way of saying that I think that knowing about the history and culture is more important than all the haggis eating and sporran wearing. Scotland contributed a lot; especially to the foundation of Democracy in the US. More important to know that than to indulge on organ meats and massacre the works of the Ploughman Poet ev'ry January 25...

Best

AA

....and if any of you were wondering about that unbelievably unfortunate village where the people were constantly finding themselves in the scheiss every twenty years or so, it was my paternal Great-Great-Grandmother's village...she eventually caught on to the fact that staying there could only net her more of the same so she married a very successful gypsy gentleman who was passing through town and eventually worked her way up to Queen of the Gypsies...but that is a story for another time...