Enjoy our unique holiday and the book Scottish customs; cradle to grave MARGARET BENNETT ISBN 0-7486-6118-2 (It doesn't explain holidays and festivals.....does anyone know of a good book that does. my great grandfather was Scottish my grandfather was born in ONTARIO. SO by the time I entered the picture there were not many traditions the family observed. i would like to learn about them and pick up some besides singing lullabies. can we srart the year by retelling what names we are researching. i research Powrie/Pourie anywhere and McPhail in stricken parish, Aberdeenshire and KILLIN AND Fortingal, Perth Mary in Oregon

Hi Folks, Mary in Oregon asked: > Enjoy our unique holiday and the book Scottish customs; cradle to grave > MARGARET BENNETT ISBN 0-7486-6118-2 (It doesn't explain holidays and > festivals.....does anyone know of a good book that does One good book is "A Dictionary of British Folk Customs" by Christina Hole (ISBN 0-08293-X). It's not specifically about Scotland, but covers all of Great Britain. Christina Hole seems to know her stuff, and she lists an extensive bibliography. Another book that I enjoy "dipping into" is "Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain", published back in 1973 by Readers Digest. Again, it isn't specific to Scotland, but contains an amazing amount of information - a really weighty tome, with good illustrations and fascinating detail. Don't know if it's still in print - I was lucky and found mine in a second-hand book shop! Updating my interests, my Perthshire names are: CHALMERS - presently still stuck at my downright annoying "brickwall" of James CHALMERS and Ann/Agnes PARKER. Their son, James Williamson CHALMERS was baptized 1841 at Lethendy & Kinloch, but his parents may as well have come from Alpha Centauri. Any ideas, anyone? MCLANDERS/MCILANDRES and every possible variation under the sun - my line goes back to David MCLANDERS (a Stone Dyker) who married Elspeth MELVILLE in 1778 at Kirkmichael, Perthshire. My own MCLANDERS ended up in Dundee, but I'm always interested in hearing about absolutely any MCLANDERS from anywhere (not quite a one-name study yet, but we're getting there!). Also interested in MELVILLE, MCINTOSH, and FLEMING from Kirkmichael (pre-1800). LUNAN - interested in the LUNAN family from the Perth/Angus borderlands (Christian LUNAN was bap in Eassie & Nevay, 1758, married at Rattray, 1789 to Thomas SCOTT). Plus looking for clues re: earlier members of said SCOTT family. I have lots of info on the CRICHTON family of Bendochy and Alyth, but would welcome more... Oh, and I also have the TAYLOR and PATON families of Gask. I've hardly any data on them, but ever hopeful. At present, all I know is that William TAYLOR married Ann PATON on 12 Nov 1790 at Findo Gask. Their daughter, Marjory/Margery/May TAYLOR, born circa 1791, Gask, married William CRICHTON at Alyth in 1809. I think William TAYLOR died young, as Ann PATON married again, to Gilbert CRICHTON, in 1802 at Alyth. There - that's nicely confusing, isn't it? <g> As ever, I'm always happy to share information with other researchers. Best wishes, and a very Happy Hogmanay to you all, Sue