Click the tartan to view its entry in The Scottish Registers of Tartans which includes registration details, restrictions, and registrant information.
Unregistered tartans may link to one of the web's online design environments for similar information.
For any questions about reproduction of designs or weaving of these tartans, please contact the registrant directly or via this website.
Foxing Day (Fox Appreciation Day)
“Nothing's perfect," sighed the fox. "My life is monotonous. I hunt chickens; people hunt me. All chickens are just alike, and all men are just alike. So I'm rather bored. But if you tame me, my life will be filled with sunshine. I'll know the sound of footsteps that will be different from all the rest. Other footsteps send me back underground. Yours will call me out of my burrow like music."
~ The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 1943
It’s not Boxing Day — it’s Foxing Day!
The Arctic fox is the only land mammal native to Iceland, arriving on this remote North Atlantic island at the close of the last ice age, when frozen seas formed a natural bridge across the water.
Also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, this remarkable animal thrives in some of the coldest conditions on Earth. So well adapted is it to the Arctic that it doesn’t begin to shiver until temperatures plunge to an astonishing −70 °C (−94 °F). A key to its survival lies in its dense, multi-layered coat, which provides exceptional insulation against the bitter cold.
Those subtle shifts in the fox’s coat — from creamy whites and silvery greys to smoky blues and soft earth tones — determine where it is most often found. White-morph foxes typically roam inland, where their pale fur disappears into the snowy tundra, while blue-morph foxes favor the coast, blending seamlessly with dark rocks and wind-carved cliffs. These gentle, natural variations are echoed in the tartan’s softly layered colours, which mimic the fox’s changing hues across its various territories.
Though the Arctic fox is often unseen, it is far from silent. Its sharp bark and piercing scream can carry across great distances, while quieter calls are used for close-range communication. Most distinctive of all is “gekkering” — a curious, guttural chattering punctuated by yelps and howls — a sound as unexpected and characterful as the fox itself. 🤎 💛 🤍 🖤 🤎 🦊 🦊 🦊
Because Boxing Day, December 26th, used to be a day for fox hunting, we instead celebrate the intelligent fox in all its incarnations, particularly, the hardy Arctic Fox.
The Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. It is well adapted to living in cold environments, and is best known for its thick, warm fur that is also used as camouflage. On average, Arctic foxes only live 3-4 years in the wild.
Arctic foxes must endure a temperature difference of up to 90-100°C between the external environment and their internal core temperature. To prevent heat loss, the Arctic fox curls up tightly tucking its legs and head under its body and behind its furry tail.
Arctic foxes generally eat any small animal they can find, including lemmings, voles, other rodents, hares, birds, eggs, fish, and carrion.
The color of the fox’s coat also determines where they are most likely to be found. The white morph mainly lives inland and blends in with the snowy tundra, while the blue morph occupies the coasts because its dark color blends in with the cliffs and rocks.
This tartan by Carol A.L. Martin, "represents the changing colour phases of the thick fur coat of the Arctic fox, which are shades of brown in summer and white and bluish-grey in winter. Their eyes are often a deep golden yellow. The Arctic fox is native to Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and is the only land mammal native to Iceland."
For more on the Arctic Fox of Iceland, click the fox!