Category: Folk
Tartan Day around the world in 2025
Image from Pixabay. CC0

About Tartan Day

How long until Tartan Day?
Tartan Day .
Dates of Tartan Day
2026 InternationalApr 6
International Mon, Apr 6Observances Holiday
2025 InternationalApr 6
International Sun, Apr 6Observances Holiday
2024 InternationalApr 6
International Sat, Apr 6Observances Holiday
2023 InternationalApr 6
International Thu, Apr 6Observances Holiday
2022 InternationalApr 6
International Wed, Apr 6Observances Holiday
Summary
An annual celebration of Scottish culture and heritage that began in Canada in the 1980s.

Tartan Day is a North American celebration of Scottish heritage on April 6th. The date commemorates the Declaration of Arbroath which was signed on this day in 1320.

The Declaration is a letter written in 1320 by the barons and whole community of the kingdom of Scotland to the Pope, asking him to recognise Scotland's independence and acknowledge Robert the Bruce as the country's lawful king. It was intended to confirm that Scotland was an independent state which had the right to defend itself.

Tartan Day began in1986 as a day to promote Scottish heritage in Canada and was proposed at a meeting of the Federation of Scottish Clans in Nova Scotia. Since then it has spread to other countries that have a large Scottish diaspora.

 In the US in 2008, an annual April 6th Tartan Day was proclaimed by President George W Bush.

In Australia, International Tartan Day is celebrated on July 1st.

Did you Know?

According to VisitScotland, Elvis Presley has no less than three tartans to his name. The singer is said to have roots in Lonmay, a tiny village in Aberdeenshire, and in 2004 local designer Mike King created an official Presley of Lonmay tartan in his honour followed by a modern version a few years later. The Scottish Tartan Registry also lists the Presley of Memphis tartan by Brian Wilton, which is based on the colours of the US flag with a gold stripe to represent Elvis’ multiple Gold Discs. It even has a thread count of 42 – the age the King was when he died.

The world's first permanent colour photograph, taken by Thomas Sutton (using the three colour process developed by James Clerk Maxwell) in 1861, was of a tartan ribbon.

The oldest known tartan design is the Falkirk tartan, which dates to around AD245 and was discovered in a jar of coins near Falkirk.

Similar Observances

Read more about Halloween

Halloween πŸŽƒ

Ireland is believed to be the birthplace of the Halloween festival.

Read More
Read more about Yule

Yule

Discover the magic of Yule, the ancient festival of rebirth, and explore its rich traditions that predate modern Christmas celebrations.

Read More
Read more about Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night

It's time to take down those Christmas decorations for another year.

Read More
Read more about Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year 🧧

Find out the dates, history and traditions of Lunar New Year.

Read More

Other Observances on April 6th 2025

Read more about New Beers Eve

New Beers Eve 🍺

New Beers Eve commemorates the day before the end of prohibition in 1933.

Read More
Read more about Daylight Savings End

Daylight Savings End πŸ•˜

Get ready to set your clocks back by one hour as daylight savings time ends.

Read More
Read more about A Drop of Water Is a Grain of Gold

A Drop of Water Is a Grain of Gold

This national holiday in Turkmenistan underlines the value and appreciation of water as a resource.

Read More
Read more about National Caramel Popcorn Day

National Caramel Popcorn Day

Find out the dates, history and traditions of National Caramel Popcorn Day

Read More
All events on April 6th 2025