Flannel, Plaids, and Advent

Sometimes life seems a circle, the further we get from the origin, the closer we are to the origin. As we begin the season of Advent, we know that Christmas, too, leads us home. So, keep smiling.

Many years ago, I purchased a boat. I named her “Eagle Wings,” from Isaiah 40-31. You know the verse. “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Why that verse? Just liked it.

The old wooden boat did fine. It pulled family around for Maine lake summers, kids on skis, nice sun, and always a cool breeze. Come winter, we pulled her out and looked toward Advent, snow, and Christmas.

Unlike in summer, we turned to our flannel shirts, some plain, some plaid, what we had. One day, I wondered: Where did that all the flannel come from, all this lumberjack plaid, red and green?

In simple terms, Americans love their flannel and plaid, the first one a cloth type, second a pattern, especially mid-winter, after Advent. Raised in Maine, we had both, and the old-timers had more.

But why? It turns out that flannel started in Wales – brushed wool that is warm, durable, and comfortable. Across Britain, it became the “working man’s” shirt, from London to Edinburgh. By the 1860s, it was popular in America, not just among lumberjacks and the working class, but for Civil War uniforms, again in WWI.

What about the colorful, crisscrossing plaids, those eye-catching patterns, black or yellow lines on red, green, and now blue? Where did plaid designs originate, especially the red and green at Christmas?

To my surprise, as many of my relatives are Scottish, plaids came from Scotland, originally tartan colors and patterns, each one representing a Scottish clan. These days, they are popular because they please the eye, but once upon a time… they were Scottish family colors.

Okay, but why plaids at Christmas? Because historically, many Scots were Presbyterian, and fled religious persecution. The plaids or tartan colors had a deep meaning, more than just for clans.

The plaids worn at Christmas were traditionally green, red, and yellow. To the Scots, green symbolized frankincense, red myrrh, and yellow gold, together symbolic of the gifts presented to baby Jesus by the Three Kings on Christmas Day. Thus, wearing these plaids, they spoke their faith.

All this was more than enough reward for my modest research on flannels and plaids, exactly where they came from, what they meant, and how those tartan colors and designs relate to old Scotland.

Still, to top things off in the Christmas season, my mind wandered to dates. Specifically, when did those persecuted Scots say “enough” and head for America in their Christmas plaids and flannels?

Surprisingly, not long after the Pilgrims got here, landing in 1607 at both Jamestown (Virginia) and Popham Beach (Maine), and in 1620 at Plymouth (Massachusetts), the Scots left Scotland – in the year 1636.

Now, if you needed a punchline, something to remember about flannels, plaids, and how things come full circle, here it is. To my surprise, Maine – to this day – has the largest per capita population of Scottish heritage Americans, explaining our love for flannels and plaids. Then there is this: The Scots left for America in 1636 on a wooden boat named “Eagle Wing.” 

Sometimes life seems a circle, the further we get from the origin, the closer we are to the origin. As we begin the season of Advent, we know that Christmas, too, leads us home. So, keep smiling.

Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC.