In this melting pot called North America, Scottish culture just might be a bigger part of your life than you realize. You likely recognize these famous words of Scottish poet Robert Burns:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne!

“Auld lang syne” is a Scots-language phrase that calls for a remembrance of good times and long-standing friendships, and one could argue that it harkens to the broader sentiment within Scottish culture to remember and to preserve.

The arrival of April marks an important time for the Scottish diaspora to do just that; to celebrate, remember, and share Scottish cultural heritage on National Tartan Day.

In Spokane, locals will have the opportunity to celebrate this holiday and connect with their regional Scottish diaspora on Saturday at the Shadle Park Library, where the St. Andrew’s Society of the Inland Northwest will host a Tartan Day celebration from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Attendees are welcome to stay for the entire event, or pop in and out at their leisure.

The event will feature Robert Burns poetry readings, bagpipe and drumming performances, Highland dancing, Scottish weapon displays, local weavers discussing how they weave tartan (the woven wool best known for its use in creating kilts), Scottish Gaelic education and more.

Tartan Day, which is officially celebrated on April 6 of each year, originated in Nova Scotia, Canada (Nova Scotia is Latin for New Scotland), but has since spread around the world to the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and several other countries that are home to large Scottish populations.

“Now the reason for April 6 as National Tartan Day, is it was the date of the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath, in 1320, which was the Scottish declaration of independence from England,” said Peter Guthrie, treasurer of the St. Andrew’s Society of the Inland Northwest.

Guthrie went on to quote one of the most famous passages in the declaration: “... For, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honors that we are fighting, but for freedom for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.”

Written in Latin, the Declaration of Arbroath was a letter written to Pope John XXII, serving as King Robert I’s response to England after he disobeyed the pope’s demand for a truce in the First War of Scottish Independence. A 1320 manuscript copy of the declaration survives to this day, albeit somewhat damaged, in the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Although the history of the First War of Scottish Independence is a critical moment in the legacy of Scotland’s sovereignty, and has been popularized in modern media particularly through its retelling in the 1995 film “Braveheart, it is but an early chapter in Scotland’s struggle against the British government for political and cultural preservation.

The mid-1700s marked a period of Scottish cultural suppression, including tartan and Highland clothing bans, dismantling of the Highland clan system and loss of Scottish Gaelic speakers due to English becoming dominant in educational and economic spheres. This was followed by the Highland Clearances, also known as “the evictions of the Gaels” from about 1750 to 1860, which evicted Scots from their land, fueling Scottish emigration.

It is this history that makes Tartan Day such a culturally significant celebration for the Scottish diaspora, as it represents many generations of Scots who dedicated themselves to preserving their cultural identity.

“We just hope to make sure that people know there is a Scottish presence in town. And anybody who is of Scottish descent or is interested in Scotland, you don’t have to be a Scot to join our society,” said Guthrie.

To keep tabs on the various Scottish culture events in the area, visit inlandnwscots.org. They host and participate in Scottish Country dances, genealogy groups, Gaelic conversation groups, Scottish American Military meetings, and of course, the famous Highland Games, which takes place on Aug. 1 at the Spokane Country Fair & Expo Center.

And if you’re a Bloomie, don’t miss the society’s current president, Kenyon Fields, on the Bloomsday course near the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture for a dose of the bagpipe to boost your spirits for the race ahead.