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TARTAN CALENDAR      Jan     Feb     Mar     Apr     May     Jun     Jul     Aug     Sep     Oct     Nov     Dec     TARTAN CALENDAR 

Fictional Creatures

Tartans have been designed to pay homage to the legendary, mythical, folkloric and other non-human creatures of the imagination.

Click any picture to navigate to the page of interest for more information about this tartan or its associated day.

McMoosie

For Clan of McMoosie and its laird Hamish and characters in the "The Brechin Tales" written by Terence Isaac as part of bringing Scottish culture to a new generation. Tartan for the fictional McMoosie family featured in Terry Isacc's 'Tales of Brechin' - a series of children's stories set in Brechin, Angus, Scotland.

Morddyn

Jan 9
Mermaid Day

Created as a totemic pattern for fishermen, mariners, sailors, and any person wishing to have a little bit of the magic of the seas and oceans with them. Within its blue green ever moving waters is a small flare of the fire of life the guardian angel gives to those who need it or ask for it. The tartan is named 'morddyn' which means 'merman' in Welsh.

Frog Prince

Feb 26
Fairy Tale Day

R'lyeh Sett

Apr 2
Cthulhu Day

Monoceros

Apr 9
Unicorn Day

This tartan, by Steven Patrick Sim, represents the fabled unicorn.

Doppelgänger

Apr 20
Doppelgänger Day

Hedwig

May 2
Harry Potter Day

Loch Ness

May 2
Loch Ness Monster Day

This predominantly green and black tartan with red is associated with Loch Ness, a vast and beautiful body of water, with Urquhart Castle watching over it and of course the Loch Ness Monster languishing in its depths. The Loch Ness tartan most certainly dates earlier than the first sightings of "Nessie."

Nessie

May 2
Loch Ness Monster Day

MacDuck

Jun 9
Donald Duck's Birthday

Ancient MacDuck, old colours, as worn by Scrooge MacDuck, uncle to the famous cartoon character Donald Duck and Great Uncle to Huey, Duey and Luey - this tartan was said to have been used by the US Government during World War II to promote the sale of war bonds.

Peter Rabbit

Jul 28
Beatrix Potter's Birthday

Created to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the first publication of The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter.

Teddy Bear 111th Anniversary

Sep 9
Teddy Bear Day

A tartan for the Eleventy-One Teddy Bears Company, intended for use in the creation of a range of limited edition Scottish produced teddy bears, and associated products.

Cairngorm

Oct 11
Myths & Legends Day

This tartan was created as a reference to the Greyman of Ben MacDhui

Phoenix Rising

Oct 11
Myths & Legends Day

This tartan was created as a tribute to the phoenix, an ancient mythological symbol which has endured for millennia, and across vastly different cultures. The phoenix, which is always characterised as a bird, dies in a magnificent fire of its own making burning into a pile of ash before being reborn and rising from its own demise as a newly resurrected phoenix.

Kelpies and Selkies:Lure of the Water

Oct 22
Seal & Selkie Day

Vampire

Oct 29
Dracula Bites Night

Tartan design by Carol A.L. Martin

Cailleach

Nov 1
First Day of Winter

The Cailleach Bheur is a feminine spirit, a blue hag, said to frequent parts of the Scottish Highlands. Associated with winter, she is reborn on every All Hallows Eve and returns to bring the winter and the winter snows.

Coinean Dubh

Nov 1
Púca's Day - Day of the Dark Rabbit

This tartan was inspired by 'Mat the rabbit', a character created by artist and animator Mat Kelman. The name "Coinean Dubh" (meaning 'dark rabbit'), refers to the character Mat and his rabbit ancestors. ​

Hello Kitty

Nov 2
Hello Kitty Days

Hello Kitty has two official tartans, one in red and one in pink.

King of Monsters

Nov 3
Godzilla Day

Phoenix Rising 2020

Dec 21
The Winter Solstice

Tartan design by Steven Patrick Sim

The Brechin Tales

The Brechin Tales are a series of illustrated children's stories by Terry Isaac, who lives in Brechin within sight of its cathedral and tower. The books feature Hamish McMoosie, a loveable mouse from Scotland. With titles such as "Hamish and the Marvellous Set of Bagpipes and "Hamish and the Quest for the New Spirtle" they not only entertain but also act as an introduction to Scottish culture - each tale has an accompanying Scottish recipe and a glossary of Scottish words.

The Mermaid

Jan 9
Mermaid Day

Medieval print of merman and mermaid

Frog Prince

Feb 26
Fairy Tale Day

Anna Marie Ferguson

Apr 2
Cthulhu Day

Constellations, 1825

Apr 9
Unicorn Day

Engraving by Sidney Hall after an illustration by Jehoshaphat Aspin for 'Urania's Mirror"

How They Met Themselves

Apr 20
Doppelgänger Day

May 2
Harry Potter Day

St. Columba and the Monster

May 2
Loch Ness Monster Day

On August 22, 565, St. Columba is said to have encountered the Loch Ness Monster. During his work to convert the Picts, St. Columba is said to have encountered an unidentified animal that some have equated with the Loch Ness Monster. Lore has it that he banished a ferocious "water beast" to the depths of the River Ness after it had killed a Pict and then tried to attack Columba's disciple.

Nessie

May 2
Loch Ness Monster Day

Scrooge McDuck

Jun 9
Donald Duck's Birthday

Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. Scrooge is an elderly Scottish anthropomorphic Duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a red or blue frock coat, top hat, pince-nez glasses, and spats and is portrayed in animations as speaking with a slight Scottish accent, also sometimes known as a Scottish burr. His dominant character trait is his thrift, or stinginess.

Peter Rabbit

Jul 28
Beatrix Potter's Birthday

Peter Rabbit is a fictional character in various children's stories by Beatrix Potter. He first appeared in The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1902 and subsequently in five more books. Peter Rabbit was named after a pet rabbit Beatrix Potter had as a child called Peter Piper. The first Peter Rabbit story, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, was originally created in 1893 as a letter to Noel Moore, the five-year-old son of Potter's former governess, Annie Moore.

Tartan Teddy by the Sea

Sep 9
Teddy Bear Day

During the time of the Teddy Bear craze in the US, Steiff created a stuffed bear with a shipment meant for the US. The bears never arrived leading to a story that they were "shipwrecked."

Brocken Spectre

Oct 11
Myths & Legends Day

The Phoenix

Oct 11
Myths & Legends Day

Selkie in the Faroe Islands

Oct 22
Seal & Selkie Day

Dracula & Vampires

Oct 29
Dracula Bites Night

The charismatic vampire of modern fiction was born in 1819 with the highly successful publication of The Vampyre by John Polidori. However, it is Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula which provides the basis of the modern vampire legend and the gaunt, pale undead figure recognized today.

Cailleach

Nov 1
First Day of Winter

Cailleach, the witch of winter, is said to be in charge of a well on the summit of Ben Crauchan in Argyll. Every sunset she caps the flowing water with a large flat stone and then releases it at sunrise. ​ Legend says that one night, weary from driving her goats across the mountains, she fell asleep by the side of the well. Unhindered the water gushed forth, breaking through at the Pass of Brander creating Loch Awe, and drowning local people and cattle in its wake.

Pooka or Púca

Nov 1
Púca's Day - Day of the Dark Rabbit

Though usually associated with happy Easter traditions such as baskets of candy and coloured eggs, like Mat the Rabbit, there is a darker rabbit mythology emanating from the British Isles. ​ The rabbit, originally an ancient symbol of fecundity, has a non-Christian counterpart in Celtic fertility traditions and a spirit known as the Pooka or púca (Irish for goblin).

Hello Kitty

Nov 2
Hello Kitty Days

Hello Kitty (Japanese: ハロー・キティ ) is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company Sanrio, created by Yuko Shimizu in 1974 and introduced as on a vinyl coin purse by the company Sanrio in March 1975. The character was then brought to the United States in 1976. ​ Initially known only as "the white kitten with no name" the official character profiles for Hello Kitty now lists her full name as Kitty White, born in the suburbs of London, England, on November 1.

Godzilla Minus One (2023)

Nov 3
Godzilla Day

Phoenix Rising

Dec 21
The Winter Solstice

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