Oral tradition holds that some version of the Highland Games has been in existence within the Celtic/Gaelic Community since before the dawn of Christianity. In those days, the gatherings were essentially ³war games² designed to select the best warriors in each family tribe or ³clan².
The 11th Century saw the first Games in Scotland organized and designated as a sporting event. During the reign of King Malcom III (1058-1093), a fairly flat meadowland, the Brae O¹Mar, along the river Dee, was used for a royal contest to find the swiftest and strongest in the kingdom... fast, with the necessary stamina to carry Malcom¹s messages across the land.
Games were held throughout Scotland until the Battle of Culloden in 1746. After Bonnie Prince Charlie¹s defeat by the English, the Act of Proscription banned ³playing of the bagpipe, wearing of the kilt, gathering together of the people, and the carrying of arms² under the penalty of deportation or death. That effectively squelched a good part of the Highland culture, and literally destroyed the old clan structure.
After the repeal of the Proscription, in the latter part of the 18th Century, Highland Societies began forming, and in 1781 the first society ³Gathering² was held at Falkirk. The success of this venture led to the Gathering of the Clans and the Highland Games as we know them today. By the end of the 1820s Games were once again being held throughout Scotland.
In the United States the first
Highland Games were organized by the Highland Society of New York in
the mid 1800s. The first games on the West Coast were held in San
Francisco in 1865 and the first event in this area was held in 1876
in Sacramento.
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