Happy Saint Andrew’s Day!

While you probably associate Saint Andrew with Scotland, he’s very popular all over the world. Of course today is Scotland’s official national day, but since 2015 it’s also a national holiday in Romania. Not only that, Saint Andrew is the patron saint of not just Scotland and Romania, but also Greece, Cyprus, Tenerife, Russia and the Ukraine, to name but a few!

Who was Saint Andrew?

Andrew was a fisherman in Galilee, who, along with his brother Simon Peter, became one of the 12 apostles of Christ. It is thought that he went to Greece to spread the message of Christianity, but eventually met the same fate as Jesus and was crucified. It is said that Andrew was crucified on an X shaped cross, and that’s why an X shape is present on the flag of Scotland.

So why Scotland?

Both Galilee and Greece are pretty far removed from Scotland, so why is he so celebrated there? Well legend has it that a Greek monk had a vision that told him to take the remains to the ends of the earth for safekeeping. To his mind, the ends of the earth happened to be Scotland! So some of Andrew’s remains were taken to Scotland, to the town that is now known as St Andrews, and so it became a place of pilgrimage. The rest of his remains were moved to Constantinople and then again to Italy. Small pieces of Saint Andrew have been given to Scotland over the years. A piece of his shoulder blade was given by the Archbishop of Amalfi in 1870, and is still stored at St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh, and some more pieces were donated by Pope Paul VI in 1969.

Looking for a new plate?

Proud Scots will love our selection of plates that are perfect for anyone who hails from Scotland. How about SCO 7S or SCO 1T? Or you might like to celebrate Saint Andrew’s Day with this plate… AND 73W? Of course that’s absolutely brilliant if your name happens to be Andrew! If that’s the case, you may also be interested in our Andy plates such as AND 15Y, AND 37Y and AND 331Y. All these plates are available on interest free finance, and they also make fantastic Christmas presents if you’re stuck for ideas! Nothing says ‘thoughtful gift’ quite like a private plate!