Are you from Scotland, Poland, Romania, Greece, Ukraine or Russia? If you are, I guess you might soon be celebrating St Andrew’s Day?!
“What is St Andrew’s Day?”
It is celebrated on 30 November every year.
St Andrew was a Patron Saint (Protector or Guardian) of Scotland, Romania, Greece, Ukraine, Poland and Russia!
In Christianity, it is believed that he was born between the years 5AD – 10AD in Israel, and was a chosen disciple of Jesus Christ.
“Why was St Andrew chosen to be the Patron Saint of Scotland if he was in Israel?”
When Scotland was preparing to go to war with England, St Andrew appeared in King Angus’s dream saying that Scotland was going to win the battle. The King promised that if they did win the war, St Andrew would become the Patron Saint of Scotland… And yes, of course, Scotland won the war.
“Why is the Scottish flag an X?”
The X is a symbol of St Andrew because on the day of battle between Scotland and England, King Angus saw this symbol in the sky.
“What other beliefs are there regarding this day in Scotland?”
It is believed that the people of Scotland descend from a place in the Black Sea which is now part of Bulgaria and Romania.
There are many other tales about how St Andrew became the Patron Saint of Scotland… the above is just one!
“How is St Andrew’s day celebrated?”
In Scotland, many people are given this day off as a Bank Holiday, but unfortunately, some people may still have to go to work.
To celebrate they might do some country dancing at a local party and they tend to eat fish or lamb broth as their traditional celebratory meal. (St Andrew was apparently a fisherman so it would make sense to eat fish broth 😉 )
“What is Scotland like?!”
BEAUTIFUL!!! Picturesque!!! Stunning!!! Peaceful… 🙂 But also lively in the cities!!! 🙂
If you are an international student I would highly recommend visiting Scotland… (and Devon and Cornwall)… It’s nothing like the West Midlands and I wouldn’t want that to be your only thought of the UK!
I have been to Scotland twice and stayed in Ardfern which isn’t far from Oban. It’s on the west coast of Scotland and is absolutely stunning and tranquil! I would 100% recommend going to this place!
Along the way to Oban we stopped off in Edinburgh and Stirling. On the way back we also drove past the most beautiful lake… it was SO BEAUTIFUL words can’t explain! Unfortunately, I can’t remember what this place was called… I have to go back to Scotland and discover more!
Stirling was lovely and we drove out of the town to Loch Lomond. This is a beautiful National Park with a huge lake (loch) plus there are beaches too!
I wasn’t too keen on Edinburgh if I’m honest, but I can imagine the Edinburgh Tattoo would be amazing! I’d like to go see this for sure!
The weather in Scotland is mostly cold, to be honest… however we were very fortunate to get hot weather when we went in April! I actually got a little bit sunburned and caught a tan!!
Just remember if you do go to Scotland and feel tempted to go for a swim in the lakes… be very careful because the tides can drown you very easily! Unfortunately, someone in my local town drowned in one of these lakes so I strongly recommend not to go for a swim if you can help it. It is also likely you can get hypothermia when swimming in lakes in Scotland. However, wild swimming is popular in the Highlands – just be intelligent with where you go!
In Oban I saw dolphins, seals and otters in the surrounding water and bay which was in front of the house. This puts into perspective just how deep these waters are! My dad thought it would be a good idea to canoe in the bay… the day after, we found out there were dolphins swimming there because it was 200ft deep!!!
I hope you will decide to discover Scotland one day as it is absolutely stunning!
I hope you enjoyed my photos!
You could climb Ben Nevis or maybe even see The Loch Ness Monster! 😉
Thanks for reading! 🙂
Charley x