Scotland
First we want to say that we’re with two groups for Scotland, so this text underneath is not about whole Scotland.
General view of Scotland.
Scotland is a part of the UK and is situated above England. It is 30 414 square mile big, that’s almost 48 662 kilometres. Scotland has a sea climate and in the winter it often snows, especially in the mountains. There are more than 5 million in habitants, that’s 9% of the whole population of the UK. On each square mile there live about 20 people. The original language is Gaelic.
Scottish traditions.
Highland games
The Highland games are organised every year. It was first held when the king and the clan chiefs wanted to build a strong army. They wanted to choose the strongest warriors to fight for them so they held the games in Braemar, a place near the Dee in Scotland. During the games the men had to do things like:
Caber Tossing: The caber is basically a log that athletes attempt to flip end-over-end.
Throwing a Hammer: The Scottish hammer has a total length of two meter and a half. The weight of the light hammer (for women) is 16 pounds or 7 kilo and a bit, and the heavy hammer (for men) weighs 22 pounds or 10 kilo.
Tossing a Sheaf: The sheaf is a 7 or 9 kilo bag of hay, that is tossed over a bar with a three-tyned pitchfork.
Throwing the Cannon Ball: "putting" a stone as far as possible.
Since then it is a tradition to hold the games every year in a different place. It is a part of the tradition that if they are held in Braemar, the queen and her family visits the games.
Haggis
Haggis is a typical Scottish dish. It is made from sheep bowels and only eaten on traditional festivities, such as Burn’s night. Then they celebrate the birthday of Scotland’s most popular poet. Mostly on those festivities, they recite poems, eat haggis and hold a ceilidh. That is a Scottish dance party.
Kilts and Clans
A clan is a group of people which have the same family. Earlier, only Scottish people lived in Scotland and most of them belonged to a clan. So you had to be careful when you killed somebody in a fight. That’s why all the soldiers wore a kilt. It’s a skirt with a diamond patron and made of wool. Each clan has its own patron, also called a tartan. Men wore a kilt with their tartan on it. That’s how people saw by which family you belonged. Now, kilts are only worn on special occasions.
Thistle
Thistles are known as the national symbol of Scotland. The story goes that a group of Danish people, in the middle of the night, sneaked to the castle of a Scottish ruler. They wanted to surprise the sleeping people in the castle. Around the castle, the ruler had placed a canal. The attackers wanted to cross it, but there was no water in it, only thistles, and they didn’t see that. So they jumped in it and screamed. By the screaming the people in the castle woke up and defended the castle.
Loch ness
Loch ness is one of the most famous lakes of Scotland. A special thing about the lake is that people believe that there lives a monster in it which only a few people have ever seen. According to the legend, there was a priest called Columba. At one day, one of his friends sat by the lake. Suddenly a huge monster appeared and tried to grab the man. Fortunately Columba took his holy cross and scarred the monster away with a little help from God. Since then many people tried to find out if the monster exists.
Dolphines
Scotland has many kinds of animals, eagles, sheep of course, squirrels, and dolphins. Now we will give you some more information about the dolphins.
The Scottish Dolphins are important because there are only two or three known resident populations along the British coastline, the others being at Cardigan Bay and around the Cornish coast. The Moray Firth dolphins are the only known resident population remaining in the North Sea. Researchers from Aberdeen University have now identified over 130 individual animals. The dolphins found in British waters are among the largest in the world, measuring up to 4 metres in length. The Moray Firth Area offers some of the best opportunities to observe dolphins anywhere in Europe.
Whisky
Scotch whisky is vital to the U.K. It is one of the top export earners, with exports over £2.2 billion. It is the backbone of the U.K. food and drinks industry, contributing some £1.8 billion to the trade balance. Without it the trade deficit in this sector would increase by 40%. There are many kinds of whisky, but they’re al typical for there own region.
Malt whisky is the original; the stuff of myth. Blended whisky, since the first commercial blend was made in 1853, Scotch has become one of the most popular spirits in the world. Liqueur Whisky, a spirit based on whisky which may be flavoured with herbs, flowers, fruit, seeds or roots. There are a number of liqueurs now available on the market. Grain Whisky, unusually is made from unmalted wheat or maize and is fermented together with green barley as with malt whisky but generally lower in alcohol.
Islands
There are 95 inhabited islands in Scotland with a total population of just under 100,000. These islands fall into six local authority areas: Shetland, Orkney, Western Isles (all of which have their own councils) and Highland, Argyll & Bute and North Ayrshire (which are mainland councils with island communities).
The Northern Isles (Orkney and Shetland) have cultural and historical ties with Scandinavia, whereas the west coast islands have more affinity with Ireland. The southernmost of the Atlantic islands, Islay, lies within sight of Rathlin Island and the coast of Antrim. The Western Isles have the largest concentration of Gaelic speakers in Scotland.
While different challenges apply to individual islands, most of them face issues associated with peripherality, transport costs and limited opportunities for employment or services. The Scottish Islands Network has been set up to promote, publicise and advance the interests of all Scotland's islands by bringing together public, private and community sectors responsible for their well-being.
Callanish
Callanish is probably the most impressive stone circle in Scotland and has sometimes been refereed to as the 'Scottish Stonehenge'. There is no doubt that this circle is truly inspiring with it's small compact inner circle of very tall stones and the radiating avenues that stem from it giving the appearance of a Celtic cross.
Tartans
When people think of the tartan now, most think of the very colourful pattern of the cloth of the Scottish Highlands. But originally the word "tartan" described the way the thread was woven to make the cloth: each thread passed over two threads then under two threads, and so on.... (Indeed, the original "tartan" was a very light, woollen material which couldn't really keep the wearer warm).
The oldest known piece of tartan is one that was found buried in the ground near Falkirk. It was found in a pot filled with over 1900 silver Roman coins and is thought to be about 1700 years old. It is quite different from many of the colourful tartans that we all know today. Its believed that it was made from the undyed wool - dark brown and light brown/green - of the Soay sheep which once inhabited Scotland and which still can be found on the island of St. Kilda.
The Bagpipes
It's perhaps a little ironic to feature bagpipes in this section since one thing that is certain about the early history of the instrument is that it was definitely not uniquely Scottish.
Early History
In fact, the earliest recorded reference to bagpipes is on a Hittite slab from Asia Minor which has been dated to 1000 BC while by the 1st century AD, bagpipes existed in many countries. It's also clear that bagpipes were popular throughout the rest of the British islands. When, and how, they did first appear in Scotland is a hotly contested topic with competing theories claiming they were either a Roman import or that the instrument came from Ireland.
Components and Styles of Pipe
In whichever country it developed, the basic bagpipe comprised the same elements: a bag with a chanter (on which the melody was played) and one or more drones (pipes which play a continuous note). Some examples were mouth-blown while others used a bellows attachment to supply the air to the bag.
While different styles of pipe emerged in Scotland, it is the Highland bagpipe or the piob-mhor 'the Great Pipe', which has emerged as the national instrument. These are blown by mouth and the bags were traditionally made from the skin of a sheep, although nowadays leather, rubber or other synthetic materials are used. The pipes themselves were originally made of bone or ivory, but hardwood is the modern choice.
So while they did not invent bagpipes, Scots can fairly claim to have made them their own through keeping them alive as part of their musical tradition and by making them one of the outstanding parts of their culture.
First we want to say that we’re with two groups for Scotland, so this text underneath is not about whole Scotland.
General view of Scotland.
Scotland is a part of the UK and is situated above England. It is 30 414 square mile big, that’s almost 48 662 kilometres. Scotland has a sea climate and in the winter it often snows, especially in the mountains. There are more than 5 million in habitants, that’s 9% of the whole population of the UK. On each square mile there live about 20 people. The original language is Gaelic.
Scottish traditions.
Highland games
The Highland games are organised every year. It was first held when the king and the clan chiefs wanted to build a strong army. They wanted to choose the strongest warriors to fight for them so they held the games in Braemar, a place near the Dee in Scotland. During the games the men had to do things like:
Throwing a Hammer: The Scottish hammer has a total length of two meter and a half. The weight of the light hammer (for women) is 16 pounds or 7 kilo and a bit, and the heavy hammer (for men) weighs 22 pounds or 10 kilo.
Tossing a Sheaf: The sheaf is a 7 or 9 kilo bag of hay, that is tossed over a bar with a three-tyned pitchfork.
Throwing the Cannon Ball: "putting" a stone as far as possible.
Since then it is a tradition to hold the games every year in a different place. It is a part of the tradition that if they are held in Braemar, the queen and her family visits the games.
Haggis
Haggis is a typical Scottish dish. It is made from sheep bowels and only eaten on traditional festivities, such as Burn’s night. Then they celebrate the birthday of Scotland’s most popular poet. Mostly on those festivities, they recite poems, eat haggis and hold a ceilidh. That is a Scottish dance party.
Kilts and Clans
A clan is a group of people which have the same family. Earlier, only Scottish people lived in Scotland and most of them belonged to a clan. So you had to be careful when you killed somebody in a fight. That’s why all the soldiers wore a kilt. It’s a skirt with a diamond patron and made of wool. Each clan has its own patron, also called a tartan. Men wore a kilt with their tartan on it. That’s how people saw by which family you belonged. Now, kilts are only worn on special occasions.
Thistle
Thistles are known as the national symbol of Scotland. The story goes that a group of Danish people, in the middle of the night, sneaked to the castle of a Scottish ruler. They wanted to surprise the sleeping people in the castle. Around the castle, the ruler had placed a canal. The attackers wanted to cross it, but there was no water in it, only thistles, and they didn’t see that. So they jumped in it and screamed. By the screaming the people in the castle woke up and defended the castle.
Loch ness
Loch ness is one of the most famous lakes of Scotland. A special thing about the lake is that people believe that there lives a monster in it which only a few people have ever seen. According to the legend, there was a priest called Columba. At one day, one of his friends sat by the lake. Suddenly a huge monster appeared and tried to grab the man. Fortunately Columba took his holy cross and scarred the monster away with a little help from God. Since then many people tried to find out if the monster exists.
Dolphines
Scotland has many kinds of animals, eagles, sheep of course, squirrels, and dolphins. Now we will give you some more information about the dolphins.
The Scottish Dolphins are important because there are only two or three known resident populations along the British coastline, the others being at Cardigan Bay and around the Cornish coast. The Moray Firth dolphins are the only known resident population remaining in the North Sea. Researchers from Aberdeen University have now identified over 130 individual animals. The dolphins found in British waters are among the largest in the world, measuring up to 4 metres in length. The Moray Firth Area offers some of the best opportunities to observe dolphins anywhere in Europe.
Whisky
Scotch whisky is vital to the U.K. It is one of the top export earners, with exports over £2.2 billion. It is the backbone of the U.K. food and drinks industry, contributing some £1.8 billion to the trade balance. Without it the trade deficit in this sector would increase by 40%. There are many kinds of whisky, but they’re al typical for there own region.
Malt whisky is the original; the stuff of myth. Blended whisky, since the first commercial blend was made in 1853, Scotch has become one of the most popular spirits in the world. Liqueur Whisky, a spirit based on whisky which may be flavoured with herbs, flowers, fruit, seeds or roots. There are a number of liqueurs now available on the market. Grain Whisky, unusually is made from unmalted wheat or maize and is fermented together with green barley as with malt whisky but generally lower in alcohol.
Islands
There are 95 inhabited islands in Scotland with a total population of just under 100,000. These islands fall into six local authority areas: Shetland, Orkney, Western Isles (all of which have their own councils) and Highland, Argyll & Bute and North Ayrshire (which are mainland councils with island communities).
While different challenges apply to individual islands, most of them face issues associated with peripherality, transport costs and limited opportunities for employment or services. The Scottish Islands Network has been set up to promote, publicise and advance the interests of all Scotland's islands by bringing together public, private and community sectors responsible for their well-being.
Callanish
Callanish is probably the most impressive stone circle in Scotland and has sometimes been refereed to as the 'Scottish Stonehenge'. There is no doubt that this circle is truly inspiring with it's small compact inner circle of very tall stones and the radiating avenues that stem from it giving the appearance of a Celtic cross.
Tartans
When people think of the tartan now, most think of the very colourful pattern of the cloth of the Scottish Highlands. But originally the word "tartan" described the way the thread was woven to make the cloth: each thread passed over two threads then under two threads, and so on.... (Indeed, the original "tartan" was a very light, woollen material which couldn't really keep the wearer warm).
The oldest known piece of tartan is one that was found buried in the ground near Falkirk. It was found in a pot filled with over 1900 silver Roman coins and is thought to be about 1700 years old. It is quite different from many of the colourful tartans that we all know today. Its believed that it was made from the undyed wool - dark brown and light brown/green - of the Soay sheep which once inhabited Scotland and which still can be found on the island of St. Kilda.
The Bagpipes
It's perhaps a little ironic to feature bagpipes in this section since one thing that is certain about the early history of the instrument is that it was definitely not uniquely Scottish.
Early History
In fact, the earliest recorded reference to bagpipes is on a Hittite slab from Asia Minor which has been dated to 1000 BC while by the 1st century AD, bagpipes existed in many countries. It's also clear that bagpipes were popular throughout the rest of the British islands. When, and how, they did first appear in Scotland is a hotly contested topic with competing theories claiming they were either a Roman import or that the instrument came from Ireland.
Components and Styles of Pipe
While different styles of pipe emerged in Scotland, it is the Highland bagpipe or the piob-mhor 'the Great Pipe', which has emerged as the national instrument. These are blown by mouth and the bags were traditionally made from the skin of a sheep, although nowadays leather, rubber or other synthetic materials are used. The pipes themselves were originally made of bone or ivory, but hardwood is the modern choice.
So while they did not invent bagpipes, Scots can fairly claim to have made them their own through keeping them alive as part of their musical tradition and by making them one of the outstanding parts of their culture.
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