Saturday 29 November 2014

Things to do in Scotland on St. Andrew’s Day

Happy St Andrew's Day!
Tomorrow 30th November, Scotland  will celebrate St. Andrew’s Day, Scotland’s national day and we want you to celebrate it in style! We wish all our Scottish families and au pairs a very Happy St Andrew's Day!

A bit of Information about St Andrew:

The name Andrew means ‘strong’. St Andrew was a Galilean fisherman famous for his brilliant social skills. He was one of the Christian apostles and was the first to bring foreigners to meet Jesus. Andrew was Saint Peter’s brother and thanks to that, the Scots could appeal to the Pope for protection against the English kings who were tried to conquer their land for 100's of years. According to tradition, his relics were brought by divine guidance from Constantinople to the place where the modern town of St. Andrew stands today and he has been Scotland’s national patron since the 10th century.

The tradition says St. Andrew died on an x-shaped cross which the Romans used for executions and it became famous as St. Andrew’s cross. Scotland’s flag with a white cross on a blue background, also known as The Saltire, is the representation of St. Andrew’s cross.

Time to celebrate!

St. Andrew’s Day marks the beginning of Scotland’s winter festivals. People in Scotland and Scots all over the world are big into celebrating their patron with lots of parties and events.

Here is a list of some of the festivals on in Scotland this week-end:

Saltire Festival, East Lothian
The Saltire festival celebrates the national flag and takes place from the 24th to the 30th of November. The festival is famous for his artists’ performances (usually leading Scottish artists playing folk music and big international artists) and for some of the best local food in town at the Haddington Farmers’ Market.

Oban Winter Festival, Oban
This 10-day festival is famous for its reindeer parade, its lights and fireworks and food stalls. This year it celebrates the year of the haggis, Scotland’s traditional pudding, bringing the best chefs in town together and cooking some special dishes. For St. Andrew’s week-end the festival has organized ghost walk tours, a tartan day with big fireworks to finish off on Sunday, music, and much more!

St. Andrew’s Food & Drink Festival, St. Andrews
Running from the 21st to the 30th of November, this event will bring together world-class chefs cooking mouth-watering dishes!

St. Andrew’s Square Celebrations, Edinburgh
St. Andrews’s celebrations are part of Edinburgh’s Christmas celebrations. The square will be buzzing with music, dance, fancy dress competitions, haggis hunt and a Scottish market. A must-see if you’re in Edinburgh!

Glasgow Loves St. Andrew’s Day, Glasgow
Glasgow will be celebrating in grand style with live and traditional music all day long, street theatre performances and lots of ice-skating! St. Andrew’s celebrations are part of the Christmas celebrations Glasgow Loves Christmas.

On top of this, most Scotland’s heritage attractions will give away free tickets, so it's a great chance for you to visit some of the best museums and castles in the country.

If you want to properly celebrate this day wear a tartan kilt, get a Scottish flag and go and eat some haggis! And if you’re a true Scot at heart, why don’t you delight your friends playing the bagpipes?!

We at Kangaroo Au Pair hope you enjoy this big day in Scotland!

For a full list of all the events on St. Andrew’s Day, please visit www.scotland.org


1 comment:

  1. Thanks for this enlightning post. Please keep sharing.

    ReplyDelete