[BLOG] NATIONAL TARTAN DAY
Did you know today, April 6, is National Tartan Day?
The Maple Leaf tartan is Canada’s official tartan.
At Balmoral Hall, the official tartan is the Ancient Hunting MacLean tartan, and it was adopted in 1963 when the school uniform was overhauled from a grey tunic to the kilt still worn today.
When the uniform was refreshed, administrators wrote to Her Majesty The Queen to request permission to use a Balmoral tartan for the school uniform. They received a reply that we could not, as only The Royal Family uses it. Because the Hunting MacLean is similar, it was suggested that we use it.
Tartans of all varieties are worn on Tartan Day, which is a celebration of the contributions of Scots and their descendants in Canada. Tartan Day features parades with pipe bands, Highland dancing and games, as well as other community gatherings. It is celebrated on April 6 for the anniversary of the signing of Declaration of Arbroath, the Scottish declaration of independence, in 1320.
In Canada, the celebration originated in the late 1980s in Nova Scotia, where it was declared an official day by the provincial government. It then spread across the country, with many provinces joining in, and so it was officially declared in October 2010 by Minister of Canadian Heritage Josée Verner.
Balmoral Hall School
630 Westminster Ave. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3C 3S1
Tel: (204) 784-1600 | Fax: (204) 774-5534 | info@balmoralhall.ca
Charitable Registration No. 12994 3932 RR0001
Tel: (204) 784-1600 | Fax: (204) 774-5534 | info@balmoralhall.ca
Charitable Registration No. 12994 3932 RR0001
Our mission at Balmoral Hall School is to inspire girls’ imagination and the courage to excel, to reach, to lead, to care.
We are a nondenominational independent day and boarding school, educating students from Junior Nursery to Grade 12.
Information on this website can be requested through an accessible format or communication support by contacting us at communications@balmoralhall.ca or (204) 784-1603.
