St. Andrew’s Day is upon us, will you be celebrating? (Credits: Getty Images)
Happy Saint Andrew’s Day! Today is the time for Scots everywhere to celebrate their patron saint and everything they love about their country.
If you really want to show off today, then you could share the message ‘Latha Naomh Anndra sona dhuibh!’ – that’s ‘Happy Saint Andrew’s Day’ in Scottish Gaelic.
There are plenty of ways to celebrate St Andrew’s Day, and there will be plenty going on in Scotland, and around the world, to mark the occasion.
Here are some quotes, images, and facts to share on St Andrew’s Day and get into the Scottish spirit.
Quotes to share on St. Andrew’s Day
Whether they were born in Scotland or not, many people have expressed their love for the country in poetry, letters, quotes, and interviews.
‘The birth-place of Valour, the country of Worth;
Wherever I wander, wherever I rove,
The hills of the Highlands for ever I love.’
– Robert Burns
‘Scotland should be nothing less than equal with all the other nations of the world.’
– Sean Connery
‘The mark of a Scot of all classes [is that] he…remembers and cherishes the memory of his forebears, good or bad; and there burns alive in hims a sense of identity with the dead even to the twentieth generation.’
– Robert Louis Stevenson
‘I love Scotland – I was made an honorary Wallace after my work on ‘Braveheart,’ you know. If I have two or three days off, I love nothing more than driving up there and climbing around Glencoe.’
– Brian Blessed
‘The proper drinking of Scotch whisky is more than just indulgence; it is a toast to a civilisation, a tribute to the continuity of culture, a manifesto of man’s determination to use the resources of nature to refresh mind and body and enjoy to the full the senses with which he has been endowed.’
– David Daiches
St Andrew’s Day Facts
St Andrew’s Day celebrations have been taking place in Scotland for over a thousand years, there is evidence of feasts being held in his honour as far back as 1000 AD.
When Scotland declared independence with The Declaration of Arbroath, St Andrew became the region’s patron saint.
St Andrew’s cross is featured on the flag of Scotland.
The town of St Andrews was named so as it is claimed to be the saint’s final resting place, but it is believed Saint Andrew never actually stepped foot in Scotland.
Although Andrew is proudly revered as Scotland’s patron saint, he is also the patron saint of Barbados, Georgia, Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Sicily, Greece, Cyprus, Romania, Patra, Tenerife, and Malta.
St Andrew’s philosophy was to take what you have and share it with those less fortunate.
It is believed that St Andrew was born between 5AD and 10AD in the Middle East, where Palestine is now.
He became one of the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ, not only was he one of the 12 disciples but he was Jesus’ first disciple, and was baptised by John the Baptist.
He is sometimes known as the brother of Peter, and he and fellow disciple Simon Peter were brothers.
The pair lived in Galilee and worked as fishermen.
Story has it that St Andrew became the patron saint of Scotland when in the 9th century, King Angus of Scotland was preparing for a battle against the English, St Andrew came to him in a dream promising victory and the symbol of the X appeared in the sky – St Andrew’s saltire.
King Angus said that if they were victorious in battle he would make St Andrew the patron saint of Scotland.
However, that is not the only theorised connection to the saint, another story suggests that Scottish people are descendants from an ancient population call the Scythians who lived on the Black Sea.
St Andrew converted the Scythians to Christianity.
On St Andrew’s day in Scotland, people may celebrate by attending a ceilidh (kay-lee) which is Gaelic for dance.
Scots may indulge in some traditional food on the day of their patron saints such as Cullen skink, or lamb.
St Andrew is not only the patron saint of Scotland and a handful of other countries but he is also the patron saint of singers, spinsters, maidens, fishmongers, fisherman, women wanting to be mothers, gout and sore throats.
He was crucified on an X-shaped cross on November 30, 60AD by order of the Roman governor Aegeas.
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Happy St Andrew’s Day!
