1. Scotland is surrounded by the ___________________ Ocean and the _________________ Sea.

2. The capital of Scotland is ___________________________ but the biggest city is _________________________.

3.     ____________________________ is known as the Oil Capital of Europe.

4.     The most common Scottish surname starts with Mc or Mac and it stands for _________________________.

5.     The famous song that people sing on New Year’s Eve is ________________________

__________________________ which means _______________________________.

6.     _________________________ is the country’s patron saint.

7.     The official flag is called the ___________________________ and it is a _______________________ diagonal cross on a dark ___________________field.

8.     The official language is ______________________ but there are two other officially recognized languages: _________________________ and _____________________.

9.     The Scottish national anthem is called __________________________________.

10.  The Romans built _________________________________ as a Roman frontier.

11.  A legendary Scottish warrior who united the 13th century Scots in their fight against the Brits was __________________________________.

12.  Loch is another name for a ____________________________.

13.  The most famous lake is Scotland is ______________________________.

14.  The mountainous areas of Scotland are known as The ______________________________.

15.  The highest peak in the British Isles is _______________________________.

16.  Scotland is famous for its ____________________________ , some of which have been allegedly haunted.

17.  The Scottish national costume is _________________________________. Their checked pattern is called _____________________________.

18.  The symbol of Scotland is a plant: ________________________.

19.  The _____________________________ are Scotland’s traditional musical instrument.

20.  ___________________________ is a national Scottish poet whose birthday is celebrated by Scots all around the world on the 25th of ________________________.

Famous Scots

21.  Alexander Graham Bell invented the _____________________________.

22.  Alexander Fleming discovered _________________________________.

23.  The author of Peter Pan is ____________________________________.

24.  James Watt developed the first ______________________________.

25. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created the character of _____________________.

The Clan is a concept which dates back to the 12th Century. The Scottish clans were originally extended networks of families who had loyalties to a particular chief, but the word 'clan' is derived from the Gaelic 'clann', meaning literally children. In Scotland a clan is still a legally recognised group with an official clan chief. 

WHAT IS A CLAN?

A clan is a group of people united by a common surname, they may be linked through actual familial ties or by perceived kinship. Clan names are usually associated with land, the area of Scotland where the group lived. Living off the land, cattle was their main source of wealth and, along with border disputes, the prime cause of inter-clan unrest.

Clan members organised themselves around a central member, the leader of the clan or ‘chieftain’. The most important clan chiefs held power over the lands within their control, acting as a king, protector and judge. 

CLAN HISTORY

The clans were the main political system in Scotland until the time of the battle of Culloden in 1746, when the Jacobite rebellion was crushed by the royal troops of King George II. The last major battle to take place on British soil, Culloden was perhaps the most devastating event to ever overtake Scotland with most of the Scottish soldiers not surviving the fight.

The defeat at Culloden meant that Scotland was once again under the control of the English. Clan culture was never to be the same again with so many clansmen lost on the battlefield, and once the Act of Proscription was put in place in 1746 the playing of bagpipes, clan tartans and speaking Gaelic were all outlawed. 

From 1750, residents of the Highlands were pushed out of their homes. Clan people were forced to move into crofting communities where people who had been farmers all their lives had to learn a new skill such as fishing or quarrying. Over the years the crofting communities became overcrowded, and so began the trend of ‘assisted passages’. Landlords would pay for their tenants to emigrate overseas so that they would no longer be a burden. And so, thousands of Scots emigrated to the New World (some with no choice) seeking a better life.

CLAN LEGACY

Many clans have their own tartan as well as a seal and deciding which tartan to wear is often based on family history. For many families of Scots descent, it’s hard to work out the appropriate clan as some surnames are Scotland wide or have variations in spelling. But most Scots or people of Scots descent can work out their clan with a little research into family history.

Popular culture continues to make references to clans and clan culture today. Films such as Braveheart, Rob Roy and Outlaw King as well as television series such as Outlander portray Scotland’s clan culture to audiences around the world. 

(adapted from https://www.scotland.org/features/scottish-clans)