Any Plant City residents with Scottish heritage can get a history lesson to go with their worship this weekend.
First Presbyterian Church of Plant City will host its 16th annual Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan celebration, a special service of worship thats date back to the 1940s.
“It goes back to an old English rule forbidding people from wearing their family tartans,” Marlene Merrin says. “It’s a meaningful service.”
That rule, the Act of Proscription, was implemented in 1747 and, to have every country in the United Kingdom obey English customs, forbade Scots from wearing or making their family’s unique tartans, or plaid patterns.
“They used to do it in secret, which is where the Kirkin’ comes in,” Merrin says.
While the Act of Proscription was in effect, Scots who wanted to have their clans blessed moved in stealth. Scottish church-goers brought a small swatch of their family tartan to Sunday service and waited for the signal. At a designated time, each Scot hid their swatch between their finger and thumb, with their hand in their pocket, while the minister offered the blessing.
This continued until 1782, when England’s King George III decided to go ahead and issue the Repeal of the Act of Proscription of the Highland Garb and revert everything back to normal.
The earliest known celebration of the Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan dates back to the 1940s, when U.S. Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall introduced the service to the congregation of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, in Washington, D.C. The celebration has since spread to other churches across the country, and Sunday’s event at First Presbyterian appears to be the only one in the area.
In the past, some parishioners have worn kilts of their family’s tartan to the service. One group of people who will definitely wear traditional garb is St. Andrew’s Pipes and Drums of Tampa, which will hold a concert on the church’s front lawn after the morning service.
After the service and concert, guests are invited to stay for the luncheon in the Fellowship Hall.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
IF YOU GO
KIRKIN’ O’ THE TARTAN
WHEN: Sunday, Jan. 26. Service starts at 10:45 a.m. A concert will be held on the front lawn immediately after the service, and a luncheon will be held in the church’s Fellowship Hall immediately after the concert.
WHERE: First Presbyterian Church of Plant City, 404 W. Reynolds St.