Saint Andrew's Day

Saint Andrew's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Andrew or Andermas, is the feast day of Andrew the Apostle, Scotland's patron saint

Why is it important?

Saint Andrew's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Andrew or Andermas, is the feast day of Andrew the Apostle. It is celebrated on 30 November. Saint Andrew is the disciple in the New Testament who introduced his brother, the Apostle Peter, to Jesus, the Messiah.

St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland. He is also the patron saint of Romania, Greece, Russia, Ukraine and Poland. Patron saints are chosen to be special protectors or guardians over things.

Saint Andrew's Day marks the beginning of the traditional Advent devotion of the Saint Andrew Christmas Novena.

Who was St. Andrew?

Andrew the Apostle

We don't actually know a lot about St Andrew. It is believed that he was born between the years 5 AD and 10 AD in a place that is now part of Israel.

According to Christianity, he went on to become one of the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ. The disciples were 12 people chosen by Jesus to closely follow him. Andrew's brother, Simon Peter, was also one of the disciples. They both lived in Galilee, where they were fishermen.

The "First Called"

He is referred to in the Orthodox tradition as the First-Called (Greek: ╬á¤ü¤ë¤ä¤î╬║╬╗╬À¤ä╬┐¤é, Pr┼ìtokl─ôtos).According to Orthodox tradition, the apostolic successor to Andrew is the Patriarch of Constantinople.

source: Wikipedia.com

Saint Andrew's Day in Scotland

(Scots: Saunt Andra's Day, Scottish Gaelic: Là Naomh Anndrais)

The celebration of Saint Andrew as a national festival among some social strata and locales is thought to originate from the reign of Malcolm III (King of Scotland in 1058–1093). It was thought that the ritual slaughter of animals associated with Samhain was moved to this date to assure enough animals were kept alive for winter. But it is only in more recent times that 30 November has been given national holiday status, although it remains a normal working day.

Around the world

St. Andrew's Day has been a national holiday in Romania since 2015. He is the patron saint of Cyprus, Scotland, Greece (City of Patras), Romania, Russia, Ukraine, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, San Andres Island (Colombia), Saint Andrew (Barbados) and Tenerife (Spain).

Scot's "Bank Holiday"

In 2006, the Scottish Parliament passed the St. Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007, which designated the Day as an official bank holiday. If 30 November falls on a weekend, the next Monday is a bank holiday instead. Although it is a "bank holiday", banks are not required to close (and in practice will remain open as normal) and employers are not required to give their employees the day off as a holiday. Likewise, schools remain open. The University of St Andrews traditionally gives the day for all the students as a free holiday, but this is not a binding rule.

Celebrations

In Scotland, and many countries with Scottish connections, Saint Andrew's Day is marked with a celebration of Scottish culture, and with traditional Scottish food and music.

In Scotland the day is also seen as the start of a season of Scottish winter festivals encompassing Saint Andrew's Day, Hogmanay and Burns Night. There are week-long celebrations in the town of St Andrews and in some other Scottish cities.

Did you know?

The tradition of celebrating on 30th of November was not even technically started in Scotland, but by a group of ex-pats in the USA who were keen to reconnect with their Scottish roots.

It all began with the creation of the 'St Andrew's Society of Charleston' in South Carolina, which was founded in 1729 by a group of wealthy Scottish immigrants. They became famous throughout the region for their work assisting orphans and widows in that area.

The Saltire

In 60 AD, Saint Andrew was crucified. Legend has it that he felt unworthy of being crucified on a cross similar to one Jesus Christ had died on, so it was arranged he would be crucified on a diagonal cross, also known as a saltire.

Fast-forward to over 700 years later, and King Angus II led an army of Scots and Picts in the Lothians where they fought the Saxons. The King's army was completely outnumbered and defeat was imminent. King Angus adopted St Andrew as the patron saint after seeing a Saltire appear in the sky, immediately before his victory at Athelstaneford.



The Battle of Athelstaneford (AD 832)

An army of Picts and Scots under King Angus invaded the Lothians, which was still Northumbrian territory at the time.

It found itself surrounded by Saxons led by Athelstan. Fearing defeat, King Angus led prayers and then saw a cloud formation of a white Saltire in the blue sky.

The king vowed that if, with Andrew's help he won, he would make him the patron saint of Scotland.

The Scots won and the Saltire became the flag of Scotland.

source: visitscotland.org