The United States is called a “giant melting pot” because people from all over the world have come to live here. Each ethnic group has added something to the diversity of the population of this great country. The Scottish and Irish have made a huge impact on the U.S. It would be great to honor their contributions by celebrating the Scots, Scots-Irish heritage in your family and community. You can even encourage your area officials to adopt and celebrate National Scots and Scots-Irish Heritage Month.
Many heritage groups are honored each year: February – Black History, March – Greek-American and Irish-American, May – Pacific Islander, Jewish-American, and Haitian groups. June celebrates the following groups Caribbean-American, followed by Hispanic Heritage Month which is celebrated September 15-October 15. October is German-American Heritage, Italian-American Heritage, and Polish-American Heritage Months. Finally, November is National American Indian Heritage Month.
Over the past six years, petitions have been written and requests made of the government to make April National Scots, Scots-Irish Heritage Month. It’s been asked why we don’t celebrate Scots, Scots-Irish heritage when Irish-American Heritage Month is celebrated. Others have asked why don’t we just combine these two and call it Celtic Heritage Month. Actually, both of those options were considered and then summarily discarded. Here’s why.
Irish-American Heritage Month is celebrated in March to coincide with St. Patrick’s Day. The purpose behind National Scots, Scots-Irish Heritage Month is to honor all Scots who have emigrated from Scotland, and those who migrated from Scotland to Northern Ireland. The reason Celtic Heritage Month wasn’t pursued is because there are actually seven different Celtic societies and coordination would be nearly impossible.
Getting this celebration started has actually been an on-going process for a few years. Several U.S. states and cities have passed resolutions to commemorate April as Scots, Scots-Irish Heritage Month. The groups that began the process would like to see the commemoration made a nation-wide celebration of the influence and importance of the Scots-Irish who emigrated to the United States and their descendants.
With this movement gaining ground, April would be the perfect opportunity to begin teaching your family about their rich Scottish heritage and culture. It’s also a prime time to educate your neighbors and the public about how the U.S. has been influenced by Scots-Irish descendants. If there are no local Scots celebrations, you can start with a small one in your home. Once you have a little more background and experience, you can expand your celebration.
A month long celebration could bring together the popular Tartan Day, Robert Burns’ birthday, and Saint Andrew’s celebrations under one celebratory umbrella. If you are celebrating your Scottish heritage, you will want to learn more about these days. To help you out with this, I will be adding more articles, activities, and little tid-bits to this site. So watch for more information.
Can’t wait to get started? I suggest you start with the various online Scottish organizations. Through an online search, you can find numerous groups that support the U.S. adoption of National Scots, Scots-Irish Heritage Month. Many of these groups and organizations also provide information to help you learn more about your Scots heritage. Two websites to put at the top of your list are www.thecapitolscot.com and www.electricscotland.com. To find additional information, you can also do an online search for these phrases “National Scots, Scots-Irish Heritage Month”.
If you would like to help make National Scots, Scots-Irish Heritage Month a reality, you can contact the Chairman, James Murray at 2402 S. Scales ST, Reidsville, NC 27320, telephone (336) 438-1557. You may also want to write to your representitives, congressmen, and community leaders.
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To help in making “National Scottish, Scots-Irish Heritage Month” a reality, please contact me, James Murray- e-mail atholl123456@peoplepc.com, telephone-(336)348-1557,cell (336)394-3451. This gives equal time to educate folks on a vast culture.