Clan gatherings and Highland Games

Where can you celebrate your clan heritage?

From evenings of toe-tapping traditional music in friendly pubs to the colour and excitement of Highland Games, every gathering of Scots is a celebration that you'll want to be part of.

Origins of the Games
The precise origins of Highland Games is unknown but in all probability they derived from the trials of strength, speed, agility and skill which were commonplace at the various religious fairs, military musters and cattle fairs of medieval and early modern Scotland.

Foot-racing, horse-racing and wrestling were a common feature of St Michael's Day (29 September) celebrations while other racing and athletics contests sprang up at fairs on the various holy days as well as at cattle fairs on the quarter days of the Scottish calendar. Similar sporting contests also took place at the conclusion of military musters called wappinschaws that were staged by different clans. The clans' warriors used these events to test their physical prowess in much the same way as modern soldiers engage in physical training. According to one source, it was at one such muster in 1574 that 'tossing of ye barr' (caber-tossing) first appeared on record. Yet these original competitions did not call simply for feats of strength since poets, bards and musicians also performed and competed.

The modern Games
The formalisation of Highland Games and their establishment as annual events dates from the 1820s, a part of the romanticisation of Highland culture that was rife amongst the British ruling class at the time. Accounts from the games of this period describe a programme of contests that are largely unchanged today: the Invergarry Games, for example, featured 'dancing, piping, lifting a heavy stone, throwing the hammer and running...'. Happily, the more specialised pursuit of 'twisting the four legs off a cow for which a fat sheep is offered as a prize' does not feature in the more civilised repertoire of the modern games. This usually comprises running and jumping, throwing stones or hammers, tugs-of-war, tossing the caber, as well as a variety of piping and dancing competitions.

Highland Games in Scotland

Download our pdf document of the main Highland Games events taking place in Scotland in 2008.

Highland Games around the world
And of course you don't need to be in Scotland to visit Highland Games! The US Scots website has a has a useful listing of Highland Games worldwide. Please note that, as this is an external link, we can take no responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided. Always check the details directly with the organisers before making arrangements to attend an event.