St Andrew – the patron saint of Scotland

Scotland’s national day, St Andrew’s Day, is celebrated each year on 30 November.

St Andrew was born on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and was the younger brother of St Peter. Both he and his brother became disciples of Jesus. St Andrew has been recognized as the patron saint of Scotland since at least the ninth century. According to legend, a monk called Regulus brought relics of St Andrew to Scotland, where he was given land to build a church. The settlement grew into the town of St Andrew’s, where the cathedral became a place of religious pilgrimage and the university, the oldest in Scotland, was founded in 1413. The town is one of Scotland’s most beautiful – I spent many of my family childhood holidays in the area, exploring the ancient ruins, and playing on the wide sandy beaches (when the Scottish weather complied). St Andrew’s University remains one of Britain’s finest, and I know that a number of Uzbeks have studied there very successfully in recent years.

The Scottish flag, the Saltire, is based on the X-shaped cross on which St Andrew was crucified on 30 November, 60 AD. An ancient story tells that a St Andrew’s Cross was seen in the sky on the morning of a crucial battle in 832AD between the Picts and the Angles. The Picts were inspired by the symbol and were victorious in the battle.

In Scotland, and many countries with Scottish connections, St Andrew’s Day is marked with a celebration of Scottish culture with traditional Scottish food, music and dance. Schools across Scotland hold special St Andrew’s Day events and activities including ceilidhs (a ceilidh is a social event with couples dancing in circles or groups of eight people), storytelling, reciting poems, cooking traditional Scottish meals, and bagpipe-playing!

In Scotland now the day is also seen as the start of a season of Scottish winter festivals encompassing St Andrew’s Day, Hogmanay and Burns Night. We need some celebrations to see us through the long dark months, and as soon as we have an excuse, we’re pretty good at making a party of it – and have plenty of fine Scottish beers and whiskies to fuel the fun!