Rich Scottish Traditions

The Scottish Highlands are a place of beauty and mystery.  They are also the home to the most enduring of Scottish customs, The Highland Games. There are different accounts as to how and when the highland games came about but legend has it that King of Scots, Malcom Canmore, hosted the first gathering in the 11th century. While Clan Chieftains would select clansmen to battle it out with brute strength and speed, it was an event made for the entire family. Highland Games continued through the centuries until the battle of Culloden which led to a crackdown of traditional highland culture and the near demise of the beloved highland games. When Queen Victoria was honeymooning in Scotland, she fell in love with the Scottish traditions and singlehandedly revitalized the Highland Games in 1832 with sanctioning of the Braemar Highland Games. Today highland games are not only celebrated in Scotland but also in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa to name a few countries.

No two highland games are the same, but they all include Heavy Athletics, Pipes and Drums and Highland Dance. The games will officially open with a procession of clans, athletes, pipers, drummers and highland dancers and the chieftain declaring the games officially open. The most well- known of the “heavies” is the Cabor Toss. Men and women lift a huge wooden pole and try to toss it end over end to land in a straight line as close to twelve o’clock as possible. Then we have Highland dance. Dancers need as much strength and endurance as the heavies but in a much different way. In a six step Highland fling a dancer will hop vertically 192 times, (the equivalent of running a mile), on one foot while performing complicated and intricate footwork and using muscles from head to toe. It’s said that the highland fling was traditionally danced on the clansmen’s shield celebrating a victory on the battlefield. And what would the day be without the pipes and drums? Pibroch is the most classical form of bagpiping, and you may find it alongside band, drum, and solo pipe competitions. The evocative and rich drones of the pipes are the unmistakable soundtrack of the day culminating in massed bands to close the games.

In addition to our deep culture, the games will have shops to visit and food to taste and something for all ages of your family. Come join our clans, athletes, dancers, pipers, and drummers to immerse yourself in our rich Scottish traditions.

#Savethedate – June 24, 2023 

Hope to see you there!

Norma Gilfeather smith