A Coloring Book For Tulsa Scotfest Children's Glen

All rewards go towards the cost of printing Scottish symbols for the Children's Glen I am helping set up and run. This is a voluntary position that helps teach our young children about their Scottish heritage and shares the Scottish culture with our multicultural community here in Tulsa Oklahoma.

I am taking Celtic symbols and making doodle drawings. I think they will make a great coloring book for kids! This is my contribution to our annual Scottish festival. I figured I would take my hobby and the rewards I make from Steemit and give back to the community. I will mention Steemit and how I funded this project in my coloring book. I think that would be a great way to advertise the Steemit site and our awesome community.

Scottish clans come from all over the world to participate in the Highland games, the music festival, the meeting of the clans, and to have a fun time!

10 x 10 inches, mixed media paper, pen and ink

Where Did The Legend Of The Scottish Thistle Come From?

There are many legends that surround this plant. One comes from 13 century. The plant saved some unknown Scottish Clansman from a Viking invasion. The Nordic King Haakon tried to invade the western part of Scotlands coastal towns called Largs.

The vikings were quietly creeping up to a Scottish camp of clansmen barefooted. Why barefooted? I guess they needed to be stealthy, however one of the invaders stepped on a Scottish Thistle and cried out in pain. The noise alerted a sleeping clansman and the surprise attack was no longer a surprise. The hardy Scotsmen fought off the invasion and thanked the lowly thistle for winning the battle and this is how the thistle became Scotlands national symbol.

Another legend is about how the thistle appeared on silver coins in the 1470s when King James the lll, (1466-1488) by the 16th century the thistle had become part of Scotlands coat of arms.

By the 15th century the thistle had become the national emblem. King James the IV married Princess Margaret Tudor of England in 1503 and their union inspired a poem called, “The Thrissil and The Rois by Scottish poet William Dunbar. The thistle represents James and the rose represents Margaret.

Around the mid 1550s King James the V son of King James the IV founded, “The Order of The Thistle.” It was said to be one of the highest orders founded on Chivalry. Chivalry is a way a knight is supposed to conduct himself. He is polite, kind, and unselfish, especially regarding his behavior towards women.

The Order Of The Thistle motto is, “Nemo me immune lacessit,” which translates as, “No one provokes me with impunity, in the Scottish language, “Wha dour meddle wi’ me.” There are many historians that say this order is older, from the 9th century and he was establishing a set of codes that were ancient in their origins. The virtues and honor help establish a stable community and culture.

Now one can find the thistle symbolized on everything that is Scottish. The plant is biennial, it takes 2 years before it blooms. The Latin name is “Onopordum Acanthium, and is also known as the Cotton Thistle. After the plant blooms it dies. The seeds of the plant ride the wind after the bloom has gone, which makes the thistle very prolific, it’s seeds are scattered by the wind.

The thistle can grow up to 8 foot tall and 4 foot in width and it is covered in sharp spiky leaves. The flower is downy soft but the rest of the plant makes a formable opponent that protects it’s precious seeds. I went barefoot as a child in Oregon and we had thistle plants as well. I imagine stepping on this plant could make a grown barefooted viking cry like a baby.

As a young farm girl in Oregon I had to dig these type of plants up around our garden. If you didn’t get the root the plant would come back. Hence when digging out bad habits you must get root and all. The plant has a beautiful flower, it is hard to kill, you have to be careful when grabbing the plant and it grows best on neglected lands. I think this describes the Scottish people perfectly! They are beautiful, stubborn, hard to defeat but quiet prickly if challenged.

See those two guys that hold the whisky tasting part of the festival? Rubright and Dick are trouble makers and get in more trouble than Abbot and Costello!