Highland games

Worldwide, however, it is exceeded in terms of spectators by three gatherings in the United States: the estimated 30,000[3] that attend Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina; the New Hampshire Highland Games & Festival, which attracts over 35,000 annually; and the even larger Northern California gathering—the largest in the Northern Hemisphere[4]—that has taken place every year since 1866.

[6][b] The first historical reference to the type of events held at Highland games in Scotland was made during the time of King Malcolm III (Scottish Gaelic: Máel Coluim, c. 1031 – 13 November 1093) when he summoned men to race up Craig Choinnich overlooking Braemar with the aim of finding the fastest runner in Scotland to be his royal messenger.

[7] Some modern sources suggest more these games would originate from the deer hunts that the inhabitants of the Highlands engaged in.

[d] By the mid-20th century,[9] annual Highland games events, modelled on the traditional events in Scotland along with some elements borrowed from the mòd festivals, had been established not just in Scotland but throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, among other places with a notable Scottish diaspora, which totals about 50 million people worldwide.

The games are the primary source of business for a cottage industry of professional kiltmakers outside of Scotland, and are the main recruiting grounds of the numerous clan societies.

"[23] Ian Brown (2012) coined the term tartanism (as distinct from tartanry) for this international tokenisation of tartan, kilts, and other symbols of the Highlands as ethnic-identity markers, evolving to some degree independently to suit the cultural needs of the New World Scottish diaspora and unrestrained by the views of the originating Scottish "home" culture.

[24] Michael B. Paterson (2001) hypothesises that the fondness for Highland symbols and activities among the diaspora may be due to the European-descended populations in these countries lacking much of a direct experience of culture deeper than a few generations, and being dominated by nuclear family structure;[25] Highland games, clan tartans, Burns suppers, St Andrew's societies (more than 1,200 of them just in the US), etc.

provide a sense of shared roots, heritage, identity, and a broader and more elastic notion of family, as well as fostering Old World, "mother country" connections.

"[23] According to Ian Maitland Hume (2001):[27] Tartan and the kilt encapsulate many facets of a heritage which people aspire to access; they may also represent a part-mythical family origin for those seeking roots ....

The number of Americans who choose to adopt a Scottish element as part of their identity can be attributed in substantial part to the power these symbols possess.This swell of diasporic tartan enthusiasm seems to have been triggered in the 1950s, the beginning of the age of affordable powered flight, as clan chiefs like Dame Flora MacLeod of Clan MacLeod travelled abroad to promote Scottish tourism and other connections.

[9] (At least 1 in 5 Scottish-descended people surveyed in 2017 by VisitScotland, the national tourism board, expressed an interest in travelling to Scotland.

)[28] However, in 2009, the US-based Council of Scottish Clans and Associations reported a drop in the number of active clan societies (which peaked at 170, and drive considerable tourism as well as historic-place restoration efforts), with up to a 25% decrease in individual memberships, as well as some of the annual games events coming to an end; "new technology" (i.e. the Internet) seemed to be related.

[29] In their original form centuries ago, Highland games revolved around athletic and sports competitions.

Hammer throwers sometimes employ specially designed footwear with flat blades to dig into the turf to maintain their balance and resist the centrifugal forces of the implement as it is whirled about the head.

It requires the weight to be kept between the legs before swinging it up in a pendulum like manner, and releasing when it is at its apex, directly overhead.

In this staple event, competitors toss a large tapered pole called a "caber" (/ˈkeɪbər/) usually made from a larch trees.

This event which is predominately evolving from Irish Highland games, involves the heaving of a standard half-barrel beer keg over a horizontal bar using both hands.

Maide-leisg (Gaelic for 'lazy stick', pronounced [matʲəˈʎeʃkʲ]) is a trial of strength performed by two competitors sitting on the ground with the soles of their feet pressing against each other.

The oldest maide-leisg competition in the world takes place at the Carloway show and Highland games on the Isle of Lewis.

Increasingly in the US, the heavy events are attracting women, as well as master-class athletes, which has led to a proliferation of additional classes in heavy-events competitions.

Music at Highland games gatherings also includes other forms, such as fiddling, harp circles, and Celtic bands.

At modern games, armouries will display their collections of swords and armour, and often perform mock battles.

The Highland games phenomenon is satirised by Neil Munro in his Erchie MacPherson story, "Duffy's Day Off", first published in the Glasgow Evening News on 22 August 1904.

[30] On 1 August 1997, Canada Post issued "Highland Games" designed by Fraser Ross, based on photographs by Andrew Balfour.