ST ANDREW'S DAY
1. GENERAL FACTS
2. WHO WAS ST ANDREW?
3. HOW DO WE CELEBRATE THIS DAY?
1.
This day is celebrated on the 30th November every year. It's Scotland's official national day. And it represents the start of the winter holidays. St Andrew's day also represents the official « flag day ».
We can call the flag the St Andrew's cross, but it is actually called the saltire.
2.
Was he a man linked to religion?
Was he a singer?
Was he an actor?
We are going to find out now !
Well in fact, he was a Galilean fisherman, before he became one of the Twelve Apostles. He's St Peter's brother, and the Patron Saint of Scotland of course, but also of Russia, Romania, and Greece. He was crucified on a X-shape cross on the 30th November, this is why we call the cross on the flag the St Andrew's cross.
The legend says that on day, a Greek monk called Regulus brought St Andrew's relics to Scotland (he brought a tooth, an arm, and some finger bones), where a church was supposed to be built. This place became a medieval pilgrimage site.
3.
• I was excited to do this part of the presentation because we are going to talk about food. And you know, my passion is food.
If you want to celebrate correctly this special day, you have to prepare a traditional dinner. And you have to use some of the finest seasonal ingredients from Scotland.
For example, you have the famous « Scottish smoked haddock bake », and the « Roast shoulder of scotch lamb with potatoes and onions », there are plenty dishes that you can find on the internet.
In general, you just cook soups, pork, sole, lamb, pudding, and spiced fruit (a desert with apple, pear, plum, blackberry)
• As I said, they celebrate the day with food, but they also listen to Scottish music and they do Scottish dances.
For some workers it is a very good day off.
And usually, schools organise art shows, storytelling moments, and they write poems.
THERE ARE TWO THINGS THAT I FIND COOL ABOUT THIS DAY
The first one is that all across the country, the moving poem « HAME », written by Mary Symon, is projected on some building frontages. Here's the poem. And here are some photos of those buildings.
The second thing that I think is cool about this national day is that last year there was a contest on INSTAGRAM. People can share their love for their nation on this social network by posting photos with the hashtag #mystandrewsday, and the top pictures are selected by a judging panel.
Effectively, some other countries do celebrate St Andrew's day, for example in Poland.
This day was a day on which single girls could identify their future husbands.
But now, Poles meet their friends to go to parties, with good music, and lots of alcohol!
DO I LIKE THIS DAY?
If I was living in Scotland or in Poland, I think I would love to celebrate this day, because the traditional food concept really tempts me. And also because I would like to see the poem projected on buildings.
Unfortunately, I don't live in Scotland, so we don't celebrate it.
What a pity !