St. Andrews Day

St. Andrews Day, also known as the Feast of Saint Andrew, takes place on the 30^th November. In 2022, this falls on a Wednesday. St. Andrew is the disciple of the New Testament who introduced his brother, the Apostle Peter, to Jesus, the Messiah. St Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland and is celebrated as a bank holiday, along with varied festivals, music, culture and other events in Scotland. It also marks the beginning of Advent. 

St Andrew officially became the patron saint of Scotland in 1320, when the independence of the country was declared with the signing of The Declaration of Arbroath. It was later declared a Scottish bank holiday in 2006 by the Scottish Parliament. 

According to Christianity, St Andrew was born between the year 5  AD – 10 AD in what is now Israel. He then went on to become one of Jesus Christ’s 12 disciples, along with his brother, Simon Peter. There is not a lot else known about St Andrew apart from he was a fisherman and never actually visited Scotland!

There is no clear reason why St Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, however one story states that in the 9^th century, King Angus of Scotland was preparing to go to war against the English. St Andrew then appeared to him in a dream promising him victory, an X also appeared in the sky (the symbol of St Andrew). King Angus then vowed that if they won, St Andrew would become the patron saint of Scotland! However this is speculated as there are many other stories that claim to be the origin of St Andrew as the patron saint, the story of King Angus is just the most popular!

The X that appears on the Scottish flag is actually a symbol of St Andrew to commemorate him!

Celebrates of St Andrews day usually include a special type of party known as a ceilidh where people do Scottish country dancing. Traditional food is also eaten, like Cullen skink. This is a type of lamb or fish soup.

Happy St. Andrews Day!