Heritage and Reality!

[Graham]

Nicely written James, however, your posts do sometimes leave me wondering what the heck you just said. Maybe I'm a bit thick?

Nevertheless, some of the points you raise make me think that some people take themselves too seriously.
While I am aware of the bloody past, even Braveheart and Rob Roy bring that out somewhat, and I am aware of the strongly held views some hold with regard to their family names, tartans etc etc, YET.. I prefer simple explanations and reasons for wearing the kilt as I do.

First, as earlier confessed, I am a hopeless romantic. As such I have no problem in this modern age with picking out the "nice bits" of history and leaving the stuff I don't like (the violence, the hatred, the murders and so on).

Second, I just wear a kilt because I like it. I like the comfort, the romanticism, and the history (nice bits only).

Thirdly, I am both simple and casual. I lean comfortably towards Matt's view of the kilt and history, which seems well-informed but without getting uptight about the rules.

I am such a mixture of race, with English, Scottish, Irish and possibly Scandinavian that I simply like to see myself as a celt. The celts travelled and adopted bits from other cultures while contributing much of their own wheresoever they went.

Many celts wore kilts, and so do I.

I've not thought too much about some of this before, so I thank you for inspiring some deeper thought.

[macwilkin]

James, I think your post was very insightful and always, presented in a very gentlemanly fashion -- well done. You summed up quite nicely the strong symbolism that many of us feel & see when we wear a kilt which respresents our clan and/or family.

There is a great two volume documentary on the history of bagpipes titled "Instrument of War" -- in the first volume, an officer from the Argylls is interviewed about the powerful symbolism of the British "tribal" regiments such as the Highlanders, and he makes a point to mention that for the Scottish soldier, the kilt, tartan, bagpipes, etc. is a very powerful "totem and talisman", which I feel extends to civilians as well. Yes, the kilt is not an ancient garment worn by ancient Celts, and yes, the concept of the clan tartan is not shrouded in the mists of antiquity. These are historical facts. Yet, the kilt & tartan take own powerful meaning and symbolism that provide a connection to the past -- "the blood is strong", as the Canadian Boat Song tell us -- and like James, there are those of us who feel that strong pull when we don our kilts.

Cheers,

Todd