Apprpriate dress for ceremonial occasion

[JSFMACLJR]

But I will be representing Canada, so will appropriately attire myself in Maple Leaf tartan, in accordance with local custom, and my question remains about the rest of the suit I will wear.

Edit: I have confirmation from the Royal Canadian Legion on the correctness of this.

Surely the Governor General represents Canada at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Day?

[Liam]

Surely the Governor General represents Canada at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Day?

Perhaps at the Cenotaph in Ottawa. The OP did not specifiy a location, that I recall.

[guardsman]

to the original question , tweed jacket is great . I see a lot of fuss over wearing the kilt to a cenotaph ? In Canada ? They fought valiantly as kilt wearers of highland tradition, people chased off the land ended up there , america and australia . As has been said in the past , the Canadians can be more Scot than Scots . And that is because of their past . Lets not forget in 1926 and 27 , fifty thousand Scots emigrated from these shores !!! Should they give up their heritage ???You can take a man from Scotland , but you cant take the Scot out of the man. Cmon guys lighten up a bit

[Downunder Kilt]

It appears that my point of the OP attending this event as a representative of Canada is not being understood. He is not attending as a representative of those with just Scottish heritage, but for all those who have travelled from parts beyond the seas to call Canada home and those that are native to Canada. As previously stated if he was representing just himself, a Scottish organisation, a Highland Regiment, then I do not believe the wearing of a kilt would be an issue. If a person is representing Canada as a whole, at an event, would there not be the possibility of alienating some of the attendees if one were to wear one particular countrie’s national dress, in this case the national dress of Scotland. The OP is not attending to represent his own individual heritage or just those of Scottish heritage, but to represent all the heritages of Canada
In relation CMcGs quote from the Canadian Heritage branch of the Government of Canada site “In all circumstances, national costumes can replace ceremonial wear.” I respectfully submit that this is in respect to those persons attending an event where they are from a country that has a national dress e.g. citizens of the UAE, Japan, India, to name a couple and those persons are representing their own country.
The issue is not about not being able to wear a kilt in Canada, or anywhere else for that matter. It is about wearing a kilt to officially represent Canada, as a whole, at an event. It is not about the individual or a specific group.
The Maple Leaf tartan is not part of this, it is a National symbol of Canada, and rightly so. It does not follow that a kilt, tie, toy, household article or clothing made from the tartan are thus national symbols.
The one question that has to be asked, is the OP representing the whole of Canada as the official representative of the Canadian Government at the event or is he representing those with Scottish heritage? (about 17% of the Canadian population from figures I can find online)

[The Wizard of BC]

I posted this in another thread but perhaps I need to post it here also.




"Thank you Gwynn for posting this. I often find it difficult to say what I really feel because of my position. So I bite my tongue and swear under my breath.

I too found some comments in the thread troubling. Frankly some of our members were downright rude.

As a true hyphenated citizen (I hold both American and Canadian passports) I can tell those who went off on a tangent that a Canadian is fully within his rights to wear the kilt while representing Canada. Here in BC our Lieutenant Governor would often wear his Maple Leaf kilt to official functions and would often greet visiting dignitaries in kilt. He was a Canadian of Scottish and First Peoples heritage representing Canada and The Queen.

We had a Premier who, as a Campbell, wore his British Columbia Tartan kilt with pride.

The Mayor of Victoria wears his kilt often in Council chambers and at official dinners and functions. His chain of office goes quite well with his Victoria, City of Gardens Tartan. He even greeted HRH Prince Andrew wearing his kilt.

Anyone who does not recognize that the kilt and our official Tartans are very much a part of the Canadian National heritage knows little of what or who Canadians are.

The Scots did not invent Tartan. The kilt as we know it today was probably not invented in Scotland.

In fact, given that so few Scots actually wear the kilt, it is more likely that the wider world sees the kilt and Tartan through the eyes of American 'Brigadoonary' more than they do as a Scottish national symbol.

If one of our more strident or parochial members were to accuse me, as an American, of "Playing at being a Scot" because I wore a kilt, I could probably see their point. I would venture to say that most Americans do not think of themselves as hyphenated Americans. And many Americans who see their fellow countrymen dressing up in the manner of an ancestor three or four generations removed, view it as costume, make-believe, and/or 'putting on airs'.


To a Canadian however the Maple Leaf Tartan is one of our officially recognized symbols along with the Maple Leaf itself and the Beaver. Canadians truly celebrate that they are from somewhere else. Everyone is a hyphenated Canadian. Even many of our First Peoples. We even have two official languages.

In Canada I do not wear the kilt to play at being a Scot. I wear the kilt because "I am Canadian". I will shout that to the world with my kilt made from a truly Canadian Tartan.



To our new member, I welcome you, and I apologize on behalf of the majority of the forum for the way you were greeted."

[MacGumerait]

I am certainly no expert in these matters .

However , after reading thru this thread , I have one observation as someone viewing this from afar .

This is a Canadian Memorial Ceremony and it would seem that the Canadians are the ones least bothered by the kilt issue .

If there are discussions to be had about the kilt being appropriate or inappropriate for a representative of Canada on such occasion , those decisions should belong to the Canadians as it is " their " ceremony .

[Jock Scot]

-----and it does involve the Scottish National Attire, let us not forget.

[MacGumerait]

-----and it does involve the Scottish National Attire, let us not forget.

So true ! I would not try to diminish that one bit . You are speaking to the choir here , Jock .

[Phil]

The Scots did not invent Tartan. The kilt as we know it today was probably not invented in Scotland

Here we go again. What did I say in my earlier post about Scotland's claim to the kilt being "pooh poohed" by contributors here over the years? This type of unsubstantiated drivel which tries to undermine an established truth is both scurrilous and unnecessary. Fair enough the poster has a vested interest in selling kilts to non-Scots and perhaps has an agenda to prove to his customers that they, too, can comfortably wear kilts without the slightest pang of conscience. Trying to convince the wider public of an obvious untruth, however, does no-one any favours.
Whatever spurious justifications such people try to come up with, the undeniable fact remains that tartan and kilt-wearing are incontrovertibly accepted as Scottish through and through.

[CelticAchrann]

Here we go again. What did I say in my earlier post about Scotland's claim to the kilt being "pooh poohed" by contributors here over the years? This type of unsubstantiated drivel which tries to undermine an established truth is both scurrilous and unnecessary. Fair enough the poster has a vested interest in selling kilts to non-Scots and perhaps has an agenda to prove to his customers that they, too, can comfortably wear kilts without the slightest pang of conscience. Trying to convince the wider public of an obvious untruth, however, does no-one any favours.
Whatever spurious justifications such people try to come up with, the undeniable fact remains that tartan and kilt-wearing are incontrovertibly accepted as Scottish through and through.

Just from a historical perspective, the tartan kilt was certainly not confined to Scotland. We see it through history in Scotland, Ireland, England, parts of France, and various other places. If we want to get even broader skirted garments have been popular among men world wide. Moreover even the concept of the "clan tartan" is a relatively recent invention established around the 1800's. That being said, I am very proud of my Scottish roots and it cannot be argued that the Kilt is part of the Scottish national dress, but it is important that we don't forget that as far as it's historical roots, it was certainly not confined to Scotland and it's original and intended use was to cover the legs, not to elevate oneself up the social ladder or alienate others. I for one am proud that our recently joined member wants to represent his heritage in a way that was approved both by the organization he is doing it for as well as fellow Canadians.