Happy St. Andrews Day!

Posted byRebecca BuddPosted inScotland, St. Andrew's DayTags:, , ,

Happy St. Andrew's Day

 

Today is St. Andrew’s Day!  Scotland is celebrating their patron saint. The bagpipers will be out in force, along with the haggis and tartans.  And not only in Scotland.  According to the official St. Andrew’s Day website, there are over 50 million people (of which I am one) around the world that claim Scottish descent.

St. Andrew’s narrative has come down through the centuries, well beyond the lifespan of a Galilean fisherman, a disciple of Jesus Christ and the brother of Saint Peter, founder of the Church.  Martyred for his faith, his bones travelled from Greece to Constantinople to their final resting place at Amalfi in southern Italy.  St. Andrew came to Scotland by way of a Greek monk, St. Rule (Regulus in Latin) who was given the vision of transporting a few of St. Andrew’s relics (a tooth, a kneecap, arm and finger bones) to the “ends of the earth,” which happened to be the coast of Fife, and the present day town of St. Andrews.

In 832 AD, a Pictish king, is said to have had a vision the night before a battle; the next day, a Saltire, an x-shaped cross, appeared in the sky above the battlefield.  Not surprisingly, the Picts met with success.  As time went on, the Saltire, the Saint Andrew’s Cross, was adopted as the national emblem and flag of the Scots.  And in 1320, amidst political intrigue, St. Andrew was officially recognized as a patron saint of Scotland.

The St. Andrew’s Day celebration has become global, with Google marking the day with a Flying Scotsman Doodle.  It seems, however, that St. Andrew generated international interest from the beginning.  He is the patron saint of Greece, Russia, Romania and Barbados.

Even today, St. Andrew’s story continues to evolve as we look forward to 2015.

Happy St. Andrews Day!

Published by Rebecca Budd

Blogger, Visual Storyteller, Podcaster, Traveler and Life-long Learner

34 thoughts on “Happy St. Andrews Day!”

  2. I’m not of Scottish descent but just love Scotland so Happy Belated St. Andrew’s Day to you! I don’t have any Scottish food on hand so I will deep-fry a chocolate bar in honor of their strange national tradition, haha!

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      1. What a menu! I’m a vegetarian so haven’t tried haggis but I do eat fish so had delicious fish when in Scotland. Haggis flavored crisps!! What fun though- like their version of bbq chips I see in America.

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      4. It tasted great when I had it in Scotland! And there are a lot less calories… I haven’t had the courage to make it myself. Will let you know, when I do.

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  3. Happy St. Andrews Day, Rebecca, hope you all had a great time! Thanks for this interesting history lesson and a truly smashing photo. Scotland is great! ❤
    Big hug, take care. Have a happy new week, my dear. Xx

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    1. Thank you so much, dear Dina!!! I really enjoyed our trip this year and am looking forward to returning to the UK next year – at least that is what we are planning. Your photos of Scotland were outstanding. I agree – Scotland is great! <3. Clear skies in Vancouver with a crisp chill in the air in Vancouver. Perfect for hot chocolate and a good book! Many hugs coming your way. ❤

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    1. How wonderful to hear from a kindred Scot and kindred spirit. I just looked up Clan Douglas – you come from a strong, determined family! It seems that Douglasses have excelled in many fields, from politics to sports, science to military. What is even more exciting – it seems that our Clans (I am a sept of Clan Home) are somehow connected. 🙂

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    1. It seems that Scots love to travel. And you certainly have many wonderful travel adventures – so yes, I think there is a wee bit of Scot in you somewhere. Happy St. Andrew’s Day.

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    1. Thank you, Cindy! So happy that you stopped by and for your warm greeting. I am now in the process of researching our tartan, which has been exceedingly interesting. And I am signing up for a Gaelic course in the New Year. I just learned about the Doric language of Scotland. Robert Crawford, a Scottish poet wrote: “In Scotland we live between and across languages.” Interesting thought, isn’t it!

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    1. Yes!! I agree wholeheartedly. Just the other day, we went to hear a concert – Jocelyn Pettit. One of the interesting facts that came out that evening was that Scottish fiddlers/musicians were travelling to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia to study music that had Scottish roots. It seems that the Scottish music had evolved in Scotland over the years, but in Canada, what came over from Scotland remained the same.

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      2. This is the most incredible narrative – what courage, daring and hard work. Thank you so much for sharing this information, Gallivanta. Our generation prides ourselves in being global, but I think that title was taken long ago by others that came before us.

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      6. For me from Ticino, Switzerland, this story of emigration of the Scottish people to Australia and Newzealand because of hunger is highly interesting because, more or less in the same period, the ticinesi people also had to leave their country due to the same/similar reasons. They mostly went to the America and Australia. I permit myself to add one on my article in which I tried to explain the situation a little bit.http://rivella49.wordpress.com/2014/10/10/steviasurvival-stragies-valle-di-blenioticinoied/
        Many thanks for helping to understand the past a little bit better.

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      7. Immigration – that would be a fascinating research project. So many stories of courageous men and women leaving their homelands to find a better life. Thank you for adding the link to your article. I remember reading it when it first came out. Thank you for adding to my understanding! 🙂

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      8. Dear Rebecca, I didn’t want to disturb you yesterday but dare to do it today, because your post about St. Andrew instigated me to read a little bit more about him and I saw all the places, from the Sea of Galilee to the region of the Black Sea and Georgia he went in order to preach. I also read about the battle of the Picts and Scots against the Angles and that Oengus vowed that if he was granted victory he would choose Saint Andrew as the Patron Saint of Scotland!
        I’m thinking quite a lot of immigration, for example, into our country. Not only poor people but people with money are buying our ground, because we sell it to them for a lot of money! It would be highly interesting to research this subject profoundly so as to see the many points! Enjoy the day:)

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      9. I really appreciate your thoughts and the research that your bring to the dialogue. Immigration has always been a complex topic. It speaks to the need for global equality, which is indeed a lofty goal. It is all about who will share the food, the clean water and air, the health care, etc. These are difficult questions, but they are the ones that we must address in the coming years. May we have the wisdom and foresight going forward. Happy New Year. Looking forward to the adventures that are waiting for us in 2015! 🙂

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      10. Dear Rebecca, thank you very much for your very precious thoughts, which I have now included in my post which I have been preparing these last days and which they go very well together. (It’s about the wise Chinese farmers in the period of Pearl Buck.) I am afraid that it won’t be enough to have food but it has to be healthy and the air has to be clean. I wish you in any case a 2015 with good health, not much fears when taking the airplane and much energy! 🙂

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