This weekend was the annual Stone Mountain Highland Games which takes place in Stone Mountain Park in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Each year, multiple Scottish clans gather to basically have a huge family reunion. That and drink large amounts of scotch. There’s nothing like gathering in your clan tent, popping open a fresh bottle of Glenlivet, pouring some into a quaich, and passing it around the clan. I am a member of a clan and of a long lasting organization of Scottish people called the St. Andrew’s Society. It’s all amazing and I’ve really enjoyed myself taking part in Scottish celebrations and learning more about my heritage.
If you’d like to know what some of my favorite Scottish things are, here is a little list!
- Scotch – The SWR (Scotch Whisky Regulations) includes broader definitions and requirements for the crafting, bottling, labelling, branding, and selling of “Scotch Whisky”. International trade agreements have the effect of making some provisions of the SWR apply in various other countries as well as in the UK. The SWR defines “Scotch whisky” as whisky that:
- Comprises a minimum alcoholic strength by volume of 40% (80 US proof)
- Contains no added substances, other than water and plain (E150A) caramel colouring
- Is produced at a distillery in Scotland from water and malted barley (to which only whole grains of other cereals may be added) all of which have been:
- Converted at that distillery to a fermentable substrate only by endogenous enzyme systems
- Distilled at an alcoholic strength by volume of less than 94.8% (190 US proof)
- Fermented at that distillery only by adding yeast
- Processed at that distillery into a mash
- Is wholly matured in an excise warehouse in Scotland in oak casks of a capacity not exceeding 700 litres (185 US gal; 154 imp gal) for at least three years
- Retains the colour, aroma, and taste of the raw materials used in, and the method of, its production and maturation
- The quaich – This is the instrument used in the ceremonial drinking of scotch. It is technically a bowl with a handle on each side. Traditionally, the person preparing the quaich will say either a blessing or a a statement to the group that’s meaningful. There may be a small amount of the scotch poured onto the ground as a commemoration or remembrance to those who have gone before us. A sip is taken and the quaich is handed to the person next to you. That’s the way we love to do it, but no one said that is the way everyone has to. You do you, baby.
- Bagpipes – Oh, those lovely bagpipers in their kilts, high stockings, and hats. I should say bagpipe bands because there are drummers following closely behind. No matter if they are playing Scotland the Brave or Amazing Grace, their sound digs deep into my soul and I am going to step to the beat.
- Haggis – Ask one person and they will agree that it’s a delicacy and a blessing and the next person will call it the most God-awful creation in the world. It’s typically made with sheep’s heart, lungs, and liver, but can also be made with beef, lamb, pork, or venison. Other ingredients include minced onion, oatmeal, suet, and spices like cayenne pepper. Because we’re in the US, we can’t make haggis traditionally (no lungs allowed). Each year for Burn’s Night, the members of the St. Andrew’s Society get to enjoy a US replica of haggis which still tastes very much like the one made in Scotland. Haggis and mash along with a glass of wine or a stout makes for a lovely dinner.
- Throwing heavy things – The stone put. The Scottish hammer throw. The weight throw. The weight over bar. The caber toss. The keg toss (NO!!) The sheaf toss. All these things include people throwing something heavy either with their hands or with a tool. I do not take part in these events as I would like to not throw my back out. I sometimes watch these events and wonder…Why? The men that I see throwing these things, however, never make me ask why. Maybe…who is that man?!
- Scotch eggs – A Scotch egg is a boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs and baked or deep-fried. In other words, Heaven in your mouth! These things are so good. I could eat multiples of these in a sitting, but after one or two, you may simply feel to heavy or full to hold any more.
- Robert Burns – Oh, Robert! The national poet of Scotland. He wrote lyrics and songs in Scots and English. You know one of these because you sing it ever New Years Eve. “Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot in the days of auld lang syne?” His life was quite interesting. He was a ladies man, to say the very least. My favorite work of his is A Man’s A Man For A’That. The first stanza goes as follows:
Is there for honest Poverty
That hings his head, an’ a’ that;
The coward slave-we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a’ that!
For a’ that, an’ a’ that.
Our toils obscure an’ a’ that,
The rank is but the guinea’s stamp,
The Man’s the gowd for a’ that. - Tartans – Those fabrics of multiple colors that people wear actually stand for something. It generally stands for the family clans in with they belong. They can also be representative of places. There has actually been a tartan assigned to the State of Georgia. From the program booklet of the 52nd SMHG:
“The Georgia tartan was introduced to the public for the first time in 1982 at the First International Gathering of the Scottish Clans ever held in the United States at the Stone Mountain Highland Games and Scottish Festival. It was designed at the request of the Stone Mountain Highland Games, Inc., by the Scottish Tartan Society in Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland, and presented to Governor George Busbee in 1982 in honor of Georgia’s 250th birthday. It became the official state tartan in 1997.”
I can wear more than one tartan because of a centuries old relationship between my clan and the Murray clan. I love my tartan and I love to show it to all that will look. - Camaraderie – No matter what clan you associate yourself with, we are all Scottish. The games provide a space for clans to come together as one heritage and relish the tastes, sounds, and history provided by each. I love the weekend each year and I love the seats I hold in each of the organizations I support.
Until next year, I will continue to drink scotch, wear my kilt, and write about the history shared by all Scottish people.
Photo by Henrik Hjortshøj