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The Kirkin’ of the Tartans Tradition
By Todd Wilkinson
While
the Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan service celebrates Scotland and Scottish heritage, it
is a truly a Scottish-American custom. If one searches the Internet for
information, stories abound of the Kirkin’s roots being in days of the Act of
Proscription, when the wearing of the kilt was banned in the Highlands –
according to the legend, Highlanders hid pieces of tartan and brought them to
church to be secretly blessed at a particular point in the service. Ask any Scot
or Scottish expatriate about the Kirkin’, and chances are you will be met with a
questioning look and an admission of ignorance of this supposedly centuries-old
Scottish tradition. In his
famous collection of Highland folklore, prayers, charms and omens, the
Carmina Gadelica, Alexander Carmichael does list a prayer for the
“Consecration of the Cloth”, but no mention is made of it originating from the
days following the ’45 or being associated with outlawed tartan. Whilst making
for a rather romantic legend, there seems to be no credible source for such a
tale. The real history of the Kirkin’ service is “All American”, with a Scottish
“twist”. The
Rev. Peter Marshall, originally from Coatbridge, Scotland, was the pastor of the
New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington DC, and served as Chaplain of
the United States Senate before his untimely death in 1949. In 1955, Richard
Todd played Dr. Marshall in the movie, “A Man Called Peter”. Rev.
Marshall is believed to be the originator of the Kirkin o’ the Tartan service.
During the Second World War, Rev. Marshall held prayer services at New York
Avenue to raise funds for British war relief. At one of the services on April
27, 1941 (although a May 1943 date is sometimes mentioned) Rev. Marshall gave a
sermon entitled “the Kirkin’ o’ the Tartans” –and thus a legend was born.
According to an article on the Montreat (North Carolina) Scottish society’s web
site, a service leaflet from the church mentioned that the funds raised from the
kirkin’ would go towards a mobile kitchen. Mr.
David Pickens, President of the Clan Cunningham Society USA, confirms this
theory of the Kirkin’s origin; Mr. Pickens’ aunt was a choir director under Rev.
Marshall, and attended Agnes Scott College with his wife, Catherine Marshall. If
that wasn’t enough, his parents were married by Rev. Marshall in 1942 before his
father shipped out for Europe, according to an article on the Lordship & Barony
of Kilmarnock’s web site. Rev.
Marshall was very proud of his home and was a member of the St. Andrew’s Society
of Washington DC, who assisted Dr. Marhsall with the first Kirkin’ services. In
1954, the Kirkin’ was moved to National Cathedral (Episcopal) in Washington --
Today, the Washington Kirkin’ service is held at the National Cathedral, a
fitting tribute to Dr. Marshall. Today,
many Scottish, Caledonian and St. Andrew’s Societies across the United States
and Canada hold Kirkin’ of the Tartans; while the majority seem to be in
Presbyterian Churches, one may also find them in Episcopalian, Methodist, Roman
Catholic and other denominations; In Fall, 2005, Holy Assumption Orthodox Church
in Canton, Ohio, held a Kirkin’, which is believed to be the first held in an
Orthodox Church.
Kirkin’s are held year-round, but St. Andrew’s Day (November 30th)
and Tartan Day (April 6th ) tend to be very popular dates – Kirkin’s
are also sometimes held at Scottish Games and Gatherings in an outdoor setting,
ironically reminiscent of the secret outdoor services (conventicles) of the
Covenanters in Lowland Scotland. During
the 1660’s and 1670’s, Scottish Presbyterians held secret outdoor meetings,
known as conventicles, due to persecution by the government. The Covenanters
posted armed look-outs at these conventicles to worn of approaching government
forces coming to break-up the meeting and arrest the participants. Persons who
attended the illegal gatherings, instead of services held by the State Church,
in this case, Episcopalian, could be fine, jailed, tortured and in some cases,
executed. In June, 1679, John Graham of Claverhouse, i.e. “Bonnie Dundee” or
“Bluidy Clavers”, surprised a group of Covenanters at a conventicle near
Drumclog. The Covenanters outnumbered Claverhouse’s dragoons, who were routed.
Reportedly, The Rev. Thomas Douglas ended his sermon at the conventicle with
these words, “Ye have got the theory, now for the practice!” Many
followers of the Covenanter leader Richard Cameron would later join a regiment
being raised by the Earl of Angus, which would become known as The Cameronians,
in 1689. It was the only regiment of the British Army with a “religious” reason
for its raising, and the Cameronians became known for their pious attitude off
the battlefield, as well as their courage on it. The
Cameronian Regiment remembered the days of the “Killing Time” by going to Church
parade armed, and posting sentries on the four corners of the Church. The
minister could not begin his sermon until an officer shouted “All Clear!” a
reminder of the days when armed pickets watched for “Bluidy Clavers” dragoons. Given
Marshall’s Presbyterian background, and the fact that he came from Southwestern
Scotland, the home to many Covenanters, one could argue that the Cameronian
conventicles provided more of an inspiration for the origins of the Kirkin’
service than the Jacobite Rebellion and the Act of Proscription. While
each Kirkin’ service has its own particular characteristics, The Capitol Scot
web site gives a very “typical” order of worship for a Kirkin’ that was held at
the Virginia Highland Games in July, 2005:
So,
while not necessarily an ancient Scottish ceremony per se, the Kirkin’, as a
Scottish-American ceremony, celebrates not only the family heritage of the
descendants of Scottish immigrants to the United States and Canada, but also the
friendship of our three nations in peace and war.
Sources
Books
Donaldson, Emily Ann. The Scottish Highland Games in America. Gretna,
Louisiana: Pelican Publishing, 1986, 1998.
Farwell, Byron. Mr. Kipling’s Army. New York: Norton, c1981.
Henderson, Diana M. The Scottish Regiments. Glasgow: Harper Collins,
1993, 1996. Ray,
Celeste. Highland Heritage: Scottish Americans in the American South.
Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001.
Turnbull, Michael T.R.B. Saint Andrew: Scotland’s Myth and Identity.
Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 1997. Web
sites
http://freespace.virgin.net
http://thecapitalscot.com/faq
http://www.accessenter.com
http://www.nyapc.org/
(New York Avenue Presbyterian Church)
http://www.montreatscottish
http://www.inverizon.com
http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk
http://www.covenanter.org.uk
http://www.cameronians.org
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