St Andrew's Day

30th November 2020

St Andrew's Day

The National Flower of Scotland is Thistle.

St. Andrew became the patron saint of Scotland over a thousand years ago, and St. Andrew’s day is celebrated on the 30th of November each year.

In Scotland, there are many festivities held on St. Andrews day, including a Ceilidh - where people take part in Scottish country dancing.

How Did Andrew Become the Patron Saint of Scotland?

Andrew was a friend of John the Baptist who told him about Jesus.

One day, Andrew and his brother Simon Peter, were fishing by Lake Galilee, when Jesus appeared and called to them, 'Come and follow me and I will make you fisher's of men'.

Andrew immediately lay down his net and followed Jesus. Andrew became one of Jesus’ disciples.

Andrew saw Jesus carry out many miracles.

He was the first person who spoke to the boy with the loaves and fish during the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand and he was the one who took the boy to Jesus.

Andrew was very sad when Jesus died.

He travelled to Poland, Russia and Greece, teaching people about who Jesus was and about the amazing things he had done.

Some people didn't like Andrew talking about Jesus and he was killed because of this.

Many years after Andrew had died, a Monk named Regulus was watching over Andrew’s bones. An angel is thought to have appeared to Regulus in a dream and told him to take the relics (bones) to the far west.

The journey was long and dangerous, and Regulus was shipwrecked on the east coast of Scotland, (in a place where the town of St. Andrews now stands). He buried St. Andrew’s bones and built a church on top.

The Scottish Flag

The Scottish Flag is a blue flag with a white diagonal cross. It's believed to be the oldest flag in Europe.