| St. George |
 Scottish World Tartan Register No. 3178 The best known legend surrounding St. George is that of the dragon. According to this legend a pagan town in what is now Libya was being terrorised by a fierce dragon. To placate the insatiable beast the locals began to sacrifice their own townspeople. Finally the local Princess was to be sacrificed, but good St. George came along, slaughtered the dragon and rescued the fair Princess. At this the townsfolk converted to Christianity. In 1222 the Council of Oxford declared 23rd. April as his Feast Day, and he eventually became the Patron Saint of England some time in the 14th Century. It is traditional for men to celebrate St. George’s Day by giving their ladies a red rose to honour the memory of St. George and the Princess he saved from the dragon. The St. George tartan has been designed to incorporate those emblems which best represent England as a nation: The RED Cross of St. George on its WHITE field, surrounded by the three lions passant of GOLD which form the Arms of England, and set in BLUE symbolising its island nature and dominance of the High Seas, laced with Royal PURPLE representing 1000 years of enduring monarchic tradition. Created as a gift to the people of England from their Scottish neighbours to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the greatest partnership between any two nations in history on May 1st, 2007. The Union of the English and Scottish parliaments in 1707 finalised a process that began in 1603 with the Union of the Crowns: the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Although many powers have been transferred back to a new Scottish Parliament created under the Devolution Settlement in 1999, that Union is still in place. Regardless of the rights and wrongs of the Act, and despite its many shortcomings, the achievements of the last three hundred years and the creation of the largest Empire the world has ever seen, make it one of the most significant events in world history. And although arguments still rage between unionists and nationalists about both the historic and present-day benefits to each of the partners, there can be no doubt that the Act of Union had a profound and beneficial effect on the rest of the world, as well the fortunes of the United Kingdom. If there can be no harmony between neighbours, how can there ever be peace between nations. Martin Luther King The Times Online |
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Tartan Facts & Snippets
| Since 1998, the USA has held a Tartan Day on 6 April, to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath. |