It’s April 6th – Tartan Day in America. The day to celebrate all things Scots.
Today, Scots-Americans will to the traditional Tartan Day celbration; we’ll stream through downtowns across America, Saint Paul and Minneapolis included, clutching ill-concealed liquor bottles. wearing fake plastic kilts and red wigs, and blaring on noisemakers (or bagpipes). Politicians and media people will prepend “Mac-” to their names and recite Keats and Burns before crowds of cheering onlookers.
Large, unruly parades led by bagpipe bands will step through slicks of vomit (tinted blue, from the blue-dyed stout and single-malt whiskey that’ll be lubricating the good times) amid hordes of tartan or blue-and-white clad, kilt-bedecked revelers, wending their way to both City Halls, where the crowds will paint their faces a merry Saint Andrew’s Blue and moon the government, bellowing “Ye can take our booze, but ye canna take our FREEDOM!”
The questions they should ask themselves is the ones all the rest of you should ask today; without Scots-Americans, would there even be an America as we know it?
From the framers of the Declaration of Independence to the first man on the moon, Scottish-Americans have contributed mightily to the fields of the arts, science, politics, law, and more. Today, over eleven million Americans claim Scottish and Scotch-Irish roots — making them the eighth largest ethnic group in the United States. These are the people and the accomplishments that are honored on National Tartan Day, April 6th.
So put some Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders or Simple Minds on your IPod (you do have some Argylls – right? Or the Black Watch?
It’s Tartan Day, 2010. Rejoice!
Folks should go out and walk those cute little dogs and eat Lucky Charms.
“Come again?”
I have a collection of bagpipe music on my ipod!
Mitch – do you still play the pipes, laddie? Happy Tartan Day?
(It’s a windy one – if you’re wearing kilts – and presumably wearing them ‘regimental’- I do hope you’re not bike riding as well!)
A toast to all things scot, including fine scotch wiskey. I’m feeling the need to go hug a scottish deerhound; there are a few of which I’m fond that I haven’t seen for awhile.
I’m very fond of Scotland.
Very convenient for raiding, from Norway.
Slain na gael! (Or however it’s spelled.)
DG,
I haven’t had much chance to play in past two years, so it’ll essentially be like starting over when I DO start over. Which I will.
As to going regimental; some traditions are best left in the auld country.
Single-malt not being among ’em.
Lars,
I’m half Norwegian and a quarter Scots. I’m covered coming and going.
DG,
I also have a large collection of pipe bands on my ‘pod. And one big playlist, best broken out for workouts.
Celts bring the kind of diversity American society could use more of….
Well today is a day Scots could love. Cold, dreary and sprinkling rain.
BTW, 3/4 Norwegian, 1/8 German and 1/8 Scot. Don’t tell the Census people.
“Large, unruly parades led by bagpipe bands will step through slicks of vomit (tinted blue, from the blue-dyed stout and single-malt whiskey that’ll be lubricating the good times)…..”
Austin Powers: Did you soil yourself?
Fat Bastard: Maybe!
Happy Tartan Day!!!!!
Slainte Mhath!
“Don’t tell the Census people.”
For the record, I’m North American. 8)
Alba go bragh!
I’ll crank a little “Scotland the Brave,” which was, incidentally, the tune of my high school fight song. Where was that? Tartan High School.
FREEDOM!!!!
Bubba, not any more. Now we have:
HOPE!!!
and
CHANGE!!!
discordian – be sure to try Dropkick Murphy’s version of that song.
The pipes are a difficult instrument to learn, much less master. I applaud your fortitude in undertaking even relearning them. There are some instruments which are torture to hear in the beginning, but which seem all the sweeter for it when mastered.
Or, you could just think of the relearning period as a fun way to payback that ‘teenage boy body spray overload’, LOL!
K-Rod: The reference was to the final scene in Braveheart
DG: To some of us, the pipes are no less torturous to hear when mastered.
bubba, Obama is re-writing the final scene in Braveheart.