A Wee Bit of History

This weekend we will celebrate the "Kirking of the Tartans." As we prepare for this beloved tradition, here is a bit of history to help.

The word Kirk comes from the Gaelic for "church."

The legend of "kirking" tartans (the plaid fabric specifically designed for each clan or family in the Highlands) dates back to the days following the Rising of 1745 when the Scottish rebels, led by the Jacobite Bonnie Prince Charlie, lost on the field of Culloden. In the years that followed, the use of bagpipes, the possession of guns, and even the keeping of tartan fabric was forbidden under penalty of death. In true Scottish fashion and refusing to live under such duress, the Scots supposedly would smuggle bits of their family plaid within their boot or inside their clothes whenever they would go to church. The story goes that at a certain moment in the service, the celebrant would give a signal and the congregation would touch their tartan - thus blessing all who were connected to their kin.

In the subsequent years, as Scots moved through Ireland and England, among other places, and eventually to North America, they brought not only their religion (Presbyterianism) but also their pipes, their feisy fighting spirit, and their clan tartans to our shores. Their fiery love of disobedience was especially important in our country, for the English would go on to blame the Scottish immigrants for the entire American Revolution several decades later, calling the war a Scottish Rebellion.

Ironically, what we do know for certain is that when World War II broke out in Europe, the British needed our support. At the time, the pastor of New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C. (where Abraham Lincoln attended while in office), happened to be a former Scotsman himself named Dr. Peter Marshall. He devised a ceremony that would allow all those who enjoyed British culture, especially bagpipes, i.e. those of Scottish and Scots-Irish descent, to help the war effort. This first, very simple service was held in April of 1941. By 1954, an annual service was being held at the National Cathedral and its like was spreading throughout the country to celebrate Scottish heritage and to bless all families connected to those original Scottish clans in Christ - which, if you haven't guessed it, is everyone!

It should also be noted that Caledonia is the Roman word for the north-most region of the main British island, in other words, what would become Scotland. The image above is of the Caledonian Tartan, which is the universal tartan for all who are connected to Scotland by kith, kin, or, in the case of Presbyterians, the church.

See you Sunday!

Blessings,

Rev. Janie