Peggy McDougall hopes Tartan Day will inspire Humboldt residents to look into their own Scottish heritage.

“It’s a chance for Scottish people to celebrate our heritage, and one way of doing that is through our tartans,” she told Bolt FM.

The April 6 celebration started in Nova Scotia in the 1980s to mark the anniversary of Scottish Independence in 1320, McDougall said.

It has has since spread through Canada and the U.S., and McDougall approached city council for a proclamation here. Humboldt Mayor Rob Muench did so on Wednesday.

McDougall grew up in Moncton, New Brunswick and spent her childhood going to highland games and clan gatherings.

In Humboldt, Tartan Day was first observed in 2013 with the help of Westminster United Church hosting a "Kirkin' o' the Tartans", or blessing of the tartan service, she noted in a letter to city council.

A small group of citizens with Welsh, Irish, Scottish and English backgrounds then joined together to continue celebrating and sharing their heritage.

A lot of thought goes into the design of a tartan, she said. Saskatchewan's tartan, for example, commemorates the province’s crops and forests.

“I would like to encourage other people to get to know their own tartan. You may not have a family tartan but it’s a good chance for you to look it up and see if you do.”