defestival1-10, Exercise 3: Testing a Scottish custom

Model answer, using the Highland games (check the details):

1. Who says it? Tourist bodies, games committees and popular histories, which often describe the games as ancient clan gatherings.
2. Earliest record? There are older records of Highland gatherings with contests of strength and skill, and of piping and dancing, but the organised games with a set programme date largely from the early 1800s (check the first societies and the dates).
3. When written? The romantic image of the Highlands, with kilts and clan tartans, was built in the early 1800s, notably around George IV's visit to Edinburgh in 1822 and Walter Scott's writing, and was boosted by Queen Victoria's Balmoral (check).
4. Definition? "The Highland games" could mean old local contests or the modern events with formal rules, tartan dress and pipe bands, which are different things.
5. Who gains? Tourist boards, clubs and anyone selling a Highland image.
6. What would change my mind? A continuous record of the same kind of event, in the same places, from the Middle Ages.

Result: older gatherings and contests are real, but the modern games, and much of their look, were shaped in the 1800s. "Ancient" is a claim for the present form, but not for every element.