New Ellis Island tartan marks Tartan Day 2011

The Ellis Island tartan has been included on the Scottish Register of Tartans at reference 10364 on the same day that it is launched as part of Ellis Island's Tartan Day celebrations (for more details see the Tartan Day On Ellis Island website (under 'Other websites' on the left side of this page).

The tartan celebrates the substantial contribution of immigrants to America. From 1892 to 1954 more than 12 million immigrants passed through the Ellis Island gateway on their way to new lives as American citizens. Half a million Scots alone arrived; many more came even earlier.

Some 40% of today's population can trace at least one ancestor's entry. This is their tartan – but really it is every American's tartan because Ellis Island is the symbol of the American dream.

Each colour in the tartan reflects the American experience:

• Blue represents the ocean that had to be crossed to reach our shores
• Copper green represents the statue of liberty
• Red depicts the bricks of the Ellis Island buildings where 12 million Americans took their first steps towards freedom
• Gold is the golden door that is the United States and the dawning of a new day in a new world.