kilts in Scotland

[Mike1]

Guys, guys, guys, why do these threads always break down like this?

How many Americans are wearing breeches, broadcloth shirts and tricorn hats on a daily basis? Or buckskins and coonskin caps? I can't recall the last time I walked down a street and saw a gent in a powdered wig. And why do the American flags always blossom from houses on 4 July and then disappear for another year? Is it a state law that residents of Texas must wear a Stetson at all times?

Why are you always so insistent on trying to lump all mankind into one group? Gie it a rest!

I count myself blessed to have as many pals in Scotland as I do. (And nearly every last one of them has commented on how affluent we are here in the States.) Most of my Scots pals own a kilt. Note, A kilt, as in singular. Because most of them cannot afford to own two, or three or forty-three. I know several of them that earn considerably more money than I, yet their standard of living struggles to be on par with my own. The next time you pitch a fit about $3/gallon gasoline, be damn thankful your not paying $8/gallon, like they are in Scotland.

But when it comes time for a commemoration, the plaids and arasaidhs that these folk don are are incredible.

And I'm far too polite to repeat some of the comments that have been made to me about some of the more economically-priced kilts that are now available on today's market.

I bet you don't see Dutch people waddling about in wooden shoes, the people in Rome going about their days in togas and men on in German boardrooms wearing lederhosen. I could be wrong, however...

[Jock Scot]

A very good point there,H.D..

[scoutniagara]

Every couple of years, the Glasweegian scouts visit my home town to see the sites. They all dress formally in kilts, but usually carry them to be worn only on special occasions. Back home for their weekly meetings, some actually carry them to their meetings in paper bags so their friends don't make fun of them wearing the kilts.

This past visit, I greeted them in the afternoon wearing my cotton/poly tan Sport Kilt. They all thought it was grand. I went home and dressed in a more formal kilt for dinner that evening, but they didn't. In past years, they did dress in kilts to see the sites of Niagara Falls and had a lot of positive comments and photo ops.

Yes, I have a Scottish heritage (Bramaer to Inverness, Argyllshire), and I began wearing the kilt as a dancer, but now, I wear it because it's the most comfortable garment to wear. My "boys" swing free the way they were meant to swing, and the breezes on my cheeks are the most wonderful.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

So Sean, does that mean somone who is born in Glasgow of Nigerian parents is more Scottish that someone born in Canada of Scottish parents? Please explain the difference between ethnicity and nationality?

[seanboy]

So Sean, does that mean somone who is born in Glasgow of Nigerian parents is more Scottish that someone born in Canada of Scottish parents? Please explain the difference between ethnicity and nationality?

Yes of course they would be,

1. the scots are made up of many differant bloodlines, scandanavian/nordic, germanic, angol saxon etc etc.
so when a newworlder says he is of scottish ethnicity he is actually made up of many ethnicities.

3. most scottish americans are made up of many, many differant ethnicities, and most who claim to be "wholly scottish" be in for a shock if they had a dna test.

4. I do not believe that being born in scotland makes you scottish nor do I believe it is whether your parents are scottish.

to be scottish you must have at least been brought up in scotland and experianced and assimilated scotlands culture, identity, dialect, people, sense of belief, ideology, sense of inward and outword perceptions, education system, world views etc etc.

this is what makes you scottish, my friend is from iceland and moved to scotland when he was 10 he is now in his late twenties and I consider him wholly scottish as he knows what it truely means to be scottish after having the above attributes assimilate and reavaluate his identity.
and as a result I conisder him scottish.

canadians with scots parents etc, are ... well canadians. !

there may be people on this forum whi disagree with me but I think I have portayed what it is to be scottish pretty well.

[DireStraitsFan]

Yes of course they would be,

1. the scots are made up of many differant bloodlines, scandanavian/nordic, germanic, angol saxon etc etc.
so when a newworlder says he is of scottish ethnicity he is actually made up of many ethnicities.

3. most scottish americans are made up of many, many differant ethnicities, and most who claim to be "wholly scottish" be in for a shock if they had a dna test.

4. I do not believe that being born in scotland makes you scottish nor do I believe it is whether your parents are scottish.

to be scottish you must have at least been brought up in scotland and experianced and assimilated scotlands culture, identity, dialect, people, sense of belief, ideology, sense of inward and outword perceptions, education system, world views etc etc.

this is what makes you scottish, my friend is from iceland and moved to scotland when he was 10 he is now in his late twenties and I consider him wholly scottish as he knows what it truely means to be scottish after having the above attributes assimilate and reavaluate his identity.
and as a result I conisder him scottish.

canadians with scots parents etc, are ... well canadians. !

there may be people on this forum whi disagree with me but I think I have portayed what it is to be scottish pretty well.

I think you're mixing up cultural identity with ethnicity. Mark Knopfler is from Scotland, but he is not ethnically Scottish. His father was Hungarian and his mother was English. There is a distinction between the terms that you are using to mean the same thing. Nationality and ethnicity can be two different things.

[seanboy]

how do you delete posts ?

[Chef]

A few points here:

-The origin of the kilt is most definitely in the Highlands and yes at one point they were considered savages by the many in the Lowlands.

-The kilt (primarily the modern kilt) became a a symbol of Scottish nationalism after Proscription ended. If this had not happened the kilt would have eventually passed into history like many other ways of dress. Have you seen anyone wearing a lien lately? Was the idea of the kilt being Scottish helped along by Sir Walter and Queen Victoria? Quite likely, but that doesn't change what it now symbolises. So while the kilt is Highland attire it is most definitely Scottish.

-The idea that Lowland Regiments were upset about wearing the kilt is somewhat out of context. While I'm sure there were a few who didn't actually want to wear a kilt, the majority of the sentiment was about losing the individual regiments and the monikers of those regiments. For the lowland regiments they felt the trews was one of theirs. It's not that they were upset about being forced to wear the uniform of savages.

[Jaggy thistle]

I think one reason that thekilt is not worn as much in Scotland as it should be is because people do not want to be seen as being different . Many more people own a kilt than wear it regularly , in my working life I could not wear a kilt because of my job but changed to kilt after work . At my school there were 6 or 7 regular kilt wearers kilts are still seen regularly in town and at weekends and I think they are on the increase

[macwilkin]

Chef,

You said:

-The idea that Lowland Regiments were upset about wearing the kilt is somewhat out of context. While I'm sure there were a few who didn't actually want to wear a kilt, the majority of the sentiment was about losing the individual regiments and the monikers of those regiments. For the lowland regiments they felt the trews was one of theirs. It's not that they were upset about being forced to wear the uniform of savages.

I respectfully disagree. The fact that the kilt is considered a Highlandman's dress is an indirect reason for some of the Lowland squaddies being upset. Yes, there was a general feeling of upset that the regiments were being merged -- I won't argue that point -- but remember that the Lowland Regiments -- the Royal Scots, the KOSB and the RHF (the latter which are amalgamations of the old HLI and the RSF) have never been kilted (save pipes & drums and a few territorial battalions, such as the Dandy 9th Royal Scots and the 10th Glasgow Highlanders of the HLI).

I distinctly remember reading an article in which it was mentioned that the Lowland squaddies were upset in having to wear the kilt when it was never a part of their regimental customs and traditions.

So we're both correct!

Regards,

Todd