December 14, 2016
St Andrew’s Day falls on the 30th November of each year, and is a bank holiday in Scotland which is commonly known as a day to celebrate Scottish culture, food and dance, including traditional Scottish ceilidh dancing. A ceilidh is a traditional social event which involves couples dancing to Gaelic folk music!
But how did St Andrew’s Day start…?
It goes way back to the 30th November 60 AD when Andrew, brother of Saint Peter (who was the founder of the Church), was crucified on a ‘saltire’, or an X-shaped cross, by the Romans. Andrew and his brother were both Galilean (present day Israel) fishermen by trade, until they became the first disciples of Jesus.
Some say that relics of St Andrew were brought to Scotland to where the town of St Andrews stands today, and around the 10th Century Andrew became the Patron Saint of Scotland. St Andrew is also the Patron Saint of Romania, Greece and Russia, and remnants of the cross on which he was crucified remain in St Andrew’s Cathedral in Patras, Greece, where Andrew was the first bishop.
However, legend has it, that in 832 AD, King Angus of the Picts, was due to battle a larger army of Saxons in what is now known as East Lothian in Scotland. The King was overwhelmed by a blinding light the night before the battle, and during the night he had a dream; the dream envisioned that he would see a cross in the sky and would conquer his enemies in its name. The following morning, King Angus went to battle and saw the clouds form a white cross in the blue sky which filled him with confidence and his army were victorious! This cross was seen to represent the cross on which St Andrew was crucified and was adopted as a national symbol and subsequently, the flag of the Scots.
St Andrew’s Day was first declared as a bank holiday in 2006 by the Scottish Parliament, and is now annually celebrated as a national festival and holiday to celebrate Scottish culture, marking the beginning of Scottish winter festivals such as Hogmanay and Burns Night.
It will be parties-galore in Scotland this week, with flag ceremonies, live music, Scotland’s largest outdoor ceilidh, and plenty of traditional Scottish food including cullen skink (haddock and tattie soup), potted beef hough (shin!) with mustard sauce and Scottish tablet (a wee sweet treat).
HOORALDIES!
Here’s tae ye! Aimee and the One Day Team