In Scotland, November 30 marks St Andrew's Day - and today is that day.
Often referred to as Latha Naomh Andrews in Scottish Gaelic, the national day commemorates the disciple of the New Testament within Christianity.
It has officially been a public holiday since 2006 after the Scottish Parliament declared St Andrew's Day a bank holiday. And although it's not legally required to be a day off, most Scottish employers opt to take it as one. It falls on Wednesday this year but if it falls on a weekend, staff are given the Friday or Monday off work.
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But why do we celebrate it, who is Saint Andrew and what are the traditions? Here's everything you need to know...
Who is Saint Andrew and why do we celebrate St Andrew's Day?
St Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, and has been for over one thousand years.
As stated by Visit Scotland, we don't know exactly how he came to be our patron saint however we do know the following:
- We think he was a fisherman and one of Jesus' first Apostles.
- He was sentenced to death by crucifixion by the Romans in Greece, but asked to be crucified on a diagonal cross as he felt he wasn't worthy to die on the same shape of cross as Jesus.
- This diagonal cross is now used on the Scottish flag - the Saltire.
- Records suggest Scotland adopted St Andrew as the patron saint by the year AD 1000.
- In 1286, the Seal of the Guardians of Scotland (used to authenticate legal documents and communications) had a representation of St Andrew on his X-shaped cross.
- In 1390, St Andrew first appeared as a national symbol on a coin of the realm, a five-shilling piece minted during the reign of Robert III.
St Andrew's Day traditions and food
Us Scots know that on this day we often celebrate November 30 by dancing to traditional music and eating lots of delicious food and drinks.
Whether it's Scottish smoked salmon, Haggis, Cullen skink, Black pudding or Stovies, there's no shortage of soul warming food to choose from. And when it comes to the sweet stuff, clootie dumpling and custard is always a popular hit.
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