A brief History of the Kirkin'

On the 25th day of July, 1745, the young Prince Charles Edward Stewart (Bonnie Prince Charles) returned from France and landing at Lochnanaugh began the enlistment of the Highland Clans for his abortive attempt to dethrone George II of England and to restore the Scottish throne to the Royal House of Stewart.

After a succession of victorious battles with the English at Prestonpans, Falkirk, Stirling, Edinburgh, and Carlisle, vastly outnumbered, exhausted and hungry, the reduced Highland ranks were utterly routed to Culloden on April 16, 1746.

To subdue the spirit of the vanquished Highlanders, the English Parliament at Westminster invoked the Act of Proscription that banned the wearing of any sign of the Tartan, forbad any speaking in Gaelic, outlawed Scottish music, dancing, or the playing of the pipes, which the Act said "emitted an aggressive and warlike sound."

It was 36 years before the Act of Proscription was revoked and, during all those years, Highland churches had a special day when the Highlanders gathered, each with a small piece of Tartan concealed under their outer clothing and, with the right hand held over the precious piece, they all joined in the prayer that it might please God speedily to cause the repeal fo the devastating Act of Proscription.

When finally the Act was repealed, the highlanders, as Cunningham in his History of Scotland has written: "returned with joy to their beloved kilt, no longer bound to the unmanly trews of the lowlanders." It is in spiritual continuity with this era of Scottish History that we celebrate the liturgy of the Kirkin'O' the Tartan.
- The Late Dr. H. Douglas Stewart

The Kirkin' O' The Tartan


In 1941, the Rev. Peter Marshall, chaplain of the U.S. Senate and minister of Washington's New York Avenue Presbyterian Church created a special Sunday service to give solace to Scottish-Americans involved in the war. This service was similar to the ones conducted in the Scottish Highlands after the Battle of Culloden in 1745 that led to the Act of Proscription, which banned the wearing of any tartans, Scottish culture and music and the speaking of Gaelic for 36 years.

Highlanders would hide and smuggle small tartan swatches into churches and receive a speical blessing from sympathetic ministers.

Since 1941, this ceremony has been practised throughout Canada and the United States but this is the first time it has been introduced to Caledonia.

In many ways Scots away from home become more Scottish than people still living in Scotland, but services like this help to interest children in the culture of their parents or grandparents and give them a sense of the history of their families.

Caledonia & District Pipes & Drums will lead a parade of "clans" from Edinburgh Square, along Caithness Street on to Argyle Street and up to Caledonia Presbyterian Church arriving there at 10:30 a.m. The serice will be led by Rev. Tom Vais and the Guest Speaker will be the Rev. Andrew Reid from Pineland Presbyterian Church, Burlington.

During the service the tartan chosen to be blessed this year is MacMillan in memory of the Rev. Norman MacMillan, who was Caledonia Presbyterian Church's minister for many years. This service includes swordsmen raising the tartan for the blessing, the procession of the "clans" into the church and special music for the service, followed by a coffee hour with a Scottish flavour.

The "clans" are families and the idea is that the head of each "clan" will carry a banner bearing the tartan of the clan. Families can order their tartan banner at a cost of $100. The banners will then belong to the clan and can be used each year for this celebration. This parade is meant to be fun for children and adults alike as well as having a serious side to it and we are hoping that many people from the community will join the festivities.

For further information on this event or to order a banner, please call Joan McDonald or Peggy Beckerson.

If anyone would like to participate, but do not belong to a Scottish family, we have a banner with the Caledonia tartan that can be used for these families.



The Story of the Kilt Pin

Do you know the real story of Scotland's kilt pin? Before the reign of Queen Victoria, the Scottish kilt was worn without the pin now used to secure the fold over on the right hand side. As a result there were many embarrassing moments especially if you wore the kilt in a high wind. The truth was that nothing in the nature of undergarments was worn with the kilt.

One day Queen Victoria arrived on a visit to Balmoral Castle and reviewed the Gordon Highlanders. A stiff wind was blowing and one young soldier at rigid attention was unable to control the flapping of his kilt and to avoid exposure on this important occasion. The Queen notice his embarrassment and walked over to him. She removed a pin from her own dress and leaning over, pinned the overlap of his kilt.

And that - believe it or not - is the origin of the kilt pin, without which no kilted Scot would be properly dressed today.



The History of the Bagpipe

No instrument has ever been so deeply entrenched in a country's tradition as the bagpipe is in Scotland's. Although the origin of the pipes can be traced back to ancient Egyptian times, it was in Scotland that the pipes eventually gained popularity and flourished.

Historicially, the Scots used the Bagpipe as an instrument of war. The bagpipe were said to possess the "sound" that could inspire warriors to great heights of valour. The Scottish pipers led their clans into battle skirting the songs of victory and the dirges of defeat. In addition, the piper celebrated births and marriages and composed songs of lament upon the death of individuals.

Over the years, the classical music of the pipes the Piobaireachd (pronounced Peeb Rock) has been handed down from piper to piper. This tradition carried on even after the failed uprising of 1745, after which piping was outlawed.

In the middle of the nineteenth century, official pipe bands were introduced to British military regiments. It was not long after this that the bagpipe became an essential component of these regiments. Civlian pipe bands were developed later and are now found all over the world, wherever individuals of Scottish and Celtic ancentry are found.