Symbolism of Our Logo, The Heraldic Badge of
The Caledonian Society of New Orleans

Click above button to see our Quick Time movie of the logo elements


A LION RAMPANT GULES ( red) is the royal charge of Scottish kings for
over 800 years, first used by William I, King of Scotland, 1165-1214.
Holding in his DEXTER (right) paw,
A THISTLE, PROPER (natural colours) the thistle is the flower of Scotland.
Upon,
A FLEUR-DE-LIS, COUNTER/CHARGED, OR,PURPURE (gold, purple)
the fleure-de-lis is the royal charge of France, symbolizing the "auld" alliance
between France and Scotland, and in more modern times a recognized
symbol of New Orleans.
All supported by a WREATH, OR, PURPURE, on a field VERT (green).
The livery colours of New Orleans have long been green,purple and gold,
established by the school of design, otherwise known as Rex, King of
Carnival, founded in 1872.
All is encircled by a belt (brown), with the name of the society engraved in OR
(gold). THE CALEDONIAN SOCIETY OF NEW ORLEANS.

 

The Thistle
Scotland's National Emblem


How, you may ask, did such a thorny flower become a national emblem?
Well, so the story goes, a very long time ago when Scotland was ravaged by Viking invaders,
a group of Scottish fighting men were resting overnight in a field.
Unknown to them, a raiding party was preparing to attack this group of
Scots, under cover of darkness.


As the attacking Vikings approached the encamped Scots,
they stood on a patch of Thistles with their bare feet And, of course,
let out cries of pain as the thorns dug deep into the soles and toes.
The Scots, having been awakened by this rammy, were able to fight off the attackers.
So, from that day, the Thistle has been adopted as Scotland’s National Emblem.

Nowadays, the Thistle is widely used to signify the “Scottishness” of countless
products, services, organizations, etc., and can be seen everywhere.