Your Best Guess?

[Calgacus]

So, Steve, about 17% of Victoria's male ethnic Scots own a kilt*. In Scotland, 83% of the population are ethnic Scots**, so I'm maybe not too far out with my 5%-20% estimate, and MacRobert is very much on the money!

*I approximate. I am assuming in my calculations that only ethnic Scots own kilts, which is of course not true.

**In the latest census, there are three different questions which you could use as a definition, but all three have pretty much the same answers.

1. Percentage of the population born in Scotland = 83%
2. Percentage of the population who feel they have some Scottish national identity = 83%
3. Ethnicity. The phrasing of the question and answers do not define this perfectly, but it is around 84%

Source: http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/do...Bulletin2A.pdf

[Sir William]

Based on my very unscientific observation, I'd say the percentage of kilt wearers in the US is very, very small, even if you were to include those who are members of pipe bands. My guess would be .0001% and I suspect that is overly generous. On a daily basic I rarely ever see anyone kilted. Most times I only see kilts at the various Celtic games and festivals (including Renaissance fairs), the occasional parade (to include those for St Patrick's Day), and Burns' and St Andrews dinners.

That said, in early January our local SAMS* post held it's annual holiday dinner at Medieval Madness in Alexandria, VA. The theme is that of Tudor England and, as it was a post event, we wore kilts. To our surprise we were not the only kilt-wearers in attendance. There were also three others (two proudly wearing "Irish" themed shirts). But we were only 8 out of perhaps 100 males present, and to my best recollection, this is the only time in the last year I've seen anyone in a kilt outside the aforementioned "Celtic" events.

* Scottish-American Military Society

[Father Bill]

A "Will to Will" note of appreciation; thanks for clarifying the acronymn. Those who have heard me grump and harrumph in the past know my preference for plain English over the assumption that everyone else in the world knows the same alphabet soup that we do.

Well done!

Father "Will" Bill

[Nathan]

As I said Victoria is a unique place. For its population we have what is reported to be the largest, per capita, Highland Games in Canada. They are the oldest in Canada. Granted, our 6,500 daily attendance for our 2 day games is small compared to Fergus or Grandfather Mt. but in relation to our smaller population, a pretty respectable turnout.

Great post, Steve . My one quibble would be that I believe the Antigonish, Nova Scotia Highland Games are the oldest Games in North America (and therefore Canada), having been established in 1863. They actually pre-date Canadian confederation by a few years. The Antigonish Games have never missed a year since then either. According to the website, the first Victoria Highland Games was in 1938. Am I missing something?

Interesting thread, Jock. In the parts of Canada where I have lived, the percentage of kilt owners with no connection to pipe bands, the military etc... would be quite low, but is growing.

My native Cape Breton is overwhelmingly Scottish in terms of ancestry. Most of us are Highlanders of Hebridean origin who emigrated during the Clearances.

The majority of the people are working class and the primary industries historically have been coal mining, fishing, steel making and pulp and paper. A very high percentage of the locals serve in the military, but we've excluded them from this. A kilt would not be sensible attire for any of these other occupations.

Although we have an upper class, we have no equivalent of the Highland aristocrats who enjoy shooting and hill walking. Our people go hiking and hunting, but given the dense forests, they wear sporting attire that is much more functional than fashionable when pursuing those activities. I've never seen a man salmon fishing in a necktie or tweed but hip waders and a flannel shirt I've seen many times. Our wealthy tend to enjoy sailing, golfing, downhill skiing, jetsking, cottaging and shopping trips to larger centres.

Notwithstanding the low percentage of kilt wearers, most Cape Bretoners can identify a wide variety of tartans. The percentage of men who own a tartan necktie would be approaching 90% and I would say that the percentage of people with some tartan item in their home (table cloth, blanket etc...) would be approaching 100% but the kilt is viewed by many to be reserved for Highland dancers, pipers, athletes, soldiers and if you like, regular folks for very special occasions. You will almost never see a Cape Breton fiddler or step dancer in a kilt because the convention is for them to wear tartan ties or waistcoats with trousers and leave the kilts to the pipers and Highland dancers.

As a kilt wearer for most of my life, I've noticed that some Cape Bretoners view them with a great deal of pride and wish they could afford the luxury while others look down their noses at them and think the modern kilt is a symbol of the Anglicized Georgian and Victorian aristocracy who appropriated our garb, celebrated our culture in books and pageantry while continuing to erase Gaelic culture from Scotland through assimilation and clearances. As you can tell, there is still a degree of bitterness toward the Chiefs, Lairds and the clan system among some on the Island, especially the older generation. I've heard some draw a distinction between the "tartan culture" and the "kitchen culture" the implication being that the latter is the more authentic Gaelic culture of the two. I do think the number of kilt owners is on the rise in my generation and that old wounds are healing.

Since the people who own kilts wear them quite infrequently, I have been surprised to discover people that owned them that I would not have expected would. That said, I could go to ceilidhs and milling frolicks (our word for a Gaelic waulking song sing-a-long) four nights a week all summer long and not see one kilt. If there was a kilt, it would probably be on a tourist or a piper.

In Canada generally, I think the percentage of kilt wearers is higher among more recent and/or more assimilated Scottish immigrants. For many of them, owning a kilt is one of the only things that separates them culturally from their other Anglophone neighbours. In Cape Breton and North Eastern Nova Scotia, people have language, cuisine, dance, fiddle, piano, dance piping, mods, feisean, oral story telling and a shared sense of community. Who needs fancy clothes when you have all this to tell you you're Scottish?

With that background, my shot in the dark would be that 1in 50 Cape Breton males might own a kilt but I don't stand by this number.

An interesting stat would be the percentage of the male population that has served in a Highland regiment or joined a pipe band. That number would be quite high per capita indeed.

[Calgacus]

Our wealthy tend to enjoy sailing, golfing, downhill skiing, jetsking, cottaging and shopping trips to larger centres.

I'm guessing it means something else on your side of the pond...

[Grizzly]

Great post, Steve .

The majority of the people are working class and the primary industries historically have Our wealthy tend to enjoy sailing, golfing, downhill skiing, jetsking, COTTAGING and shopping trips.

Ahem........ Nathan can you pleas explain what "COTTAGING" means over there because over here it has a completely different connotation. No sniggering from the UK folk please.

[Grizzly]

Calgacus you beat me to it! Ooh err......

[Jock Scot]

Cottaging? I await a trans-Atlantic explanation with interest!

Also hunting in the UK means this:-

[Nathan]

Woah! I just Googled it and found out that it means something very different there!!!

In Canada, "cottaging" means to go to one's summer home or "cottage" usually situated on or near a lake or river and enjoy canoeing, fishing, boating, water sports (the actual kind, not the metaphorical kind... take it easy), nature walks, swimming, camp fires and other leisurely activities rather than staying in the city over the weekend.

Cottaging here wouldn't get anyone arrested.





Nathan

[Grizzly]

Woah! I just Googled it and found out that it means something very different there!!!

It certainly does Nathan. Gave us Brits a good chuckle though! Two nations separated by a common language.