6 April National Tartan Day - US Celebrates Scottish Heritage

National Tartan Day is a US observance on April 6 each year. It commemorates the Scottish Declaration of Independence, from which the American Declaration of Independence was modeled. It also recognizes the achievements of Americans of Scottish descent. In 1998, the US Congress designated April 6th as national "Tartan Day”. The date is the anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath (1320), one of the first documents in the world to declare a right to freedom.

Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland. St Andrew's Day is marked with a celebration of Scottish culture with traditional Scottish food, music, and dance. Schools across Scotland hold special St Andrew's Day events and activities including art shows, Scottish country dancing, lunchtime ceilidhs, dance festivals, storytelling, reciting and writing poems, writing tall tales, cooking traditional Scottish meals, and bagpipe-playing. In Scotland the day is also seen as the start of a season of Scottish winter festivals encompassing St Andrew's Day, Hogmanay, and Burns Night with is the 25th of January.

Burns Night is annually celebrated in Scotland on or around January 25. It commemorates the life of the bard (poet) Robert Burns, born on January 25, 1759. The day also celebrates Burns' contribution to Scottish culture. His best-known work is Auld Lang Syne. Many people and organizations hold a Burns supper on or around Burns Night. These may be informal or formal, only for men, only for women, or for both genders. Formal events include toasts and readings of pieces written by Robert Burns. Ceremonies during a Burns Night supper vary according to the group organizing the event and the location. The evening centers on the entrance of the haggis (a type of sausage prepared in a sheep's stomach) on a large platter to the sound of a piper playing bagpipes. When the haggis is on the table, the host reads the "Address to a Haggis". This is an ode that Robert Burns wrote to the Scottish dish. At the end of the reading, the haggis is ceremonially sliced into two pieces and the meal begins.

30 November St Andrew's Day;

25th January Robert Burns' Night;

6 April National Tartan Day