Scots-Irish

[McElmurry]

I just find it very interesting that decisions seem to be made to associate oneselve with a certain country's culture, but not another's. Especially in America, where the connection is separated by a great amount of time and distance.

But had i been born 4th generation American, I wouldnt have these influences, and I'm not really sure how i would decide which culture and heritage I would associate myself most with.

As far as choosing to associate with a particular portion of my heritage related to kilt wearing I will give you an example.

I decided I wanted to get a kilt. At this point I am just a citizen of the US exercising my freedom of expression; it doesn’t have anything to do with heritage. The question then becomes which style and pattern of fabric. My wife and I went to a local Scottish Festival and decided we like the traditional tartan kilts. So my choices of tartan become: German-American based on my surname; Ulster, County Down, Murray, or Morrison based on my middle name; various states including Idaho, Arkansas, and Kentucky; or some more distant Scottish relative; or other universal tartans.

I ordered over a dozen swatches and mulled over my decision. At the end I chose Morrison Red muted and joined the Clan Morrison Society of North America. So while I started the process in a manner typical of my country, I ended up selecting my first kilt in a very “Scottish” way, including a consultation with Nana.

Now that is not to say I won’t get an Ulster kilt at some point in the future. It would be downright un-American to own just one kilt. Now if I can just find a kilted Moravian trombone band……

[Blackrose87]

As far as choosing to associate with a particular portion of my heritage related to kilt wearing I will give you an example.

I decided I wanted to get a kilt. At this point I am just a citizen of the US exercising my freedom of expression; it doesn’t have anything to do with heritage. The question then becomes which style and pattern of fabric. My wife and I went to a local Scottish Festival and decided we like the traditional tartan kilts. So my choices of tartan become: German-American based on my surname; Ulster, County Down, Murray, or Morrison based on my middle name; various states including Idaho, Arkansas, and Kentucky; or some more distant Scottish relative; or other universal tartans.

I ordered over a dozen swatches and mulled over my decision. At the end I chose Morrison Red muted and joined the Clan Morrison Society of North America. So while I started the process in a manner typical of my country, I ended up selecting my first kilt in a very “Scottish” way, including a consultation with Nana.

Now that is not to say I won’t get an Ulster kilt at some point in the future. It would be downright un-American to own just one kilt. Now if I can just find a kilted Moravian trombone band……

I suppose for the majority of people here in Scotland, their first kilt is a very different experience, and don't have such a variety to choose from.
Not being Scottish, I'm not an expert on the subject by any means, but any of my friends tend to know the tartan associated with thier family and wear that.


Even with my own first kilt, I had already limited my selection down to only a few before I even started looking.
Although I'm Scots descended through my father being an Ulster-Scot, I consider myself Irish. So automatically I ruled out any Scottish tartans. My choices left were a tartan representing my country, province or county. I chose the Irish National for my first kilt, and then I got an Ulster tartan.