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Lesson Transcript

Hi everyone, I'm Gina.
St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland and St. Andrew's Day is celebrated on the 30th of November. It is Scotland's national day.
In this lesson, you're going to learn about St. Andrew and how his day is marked.
The 30th of November is a public holiday in Scotland but it was only recently made so. In what year did the Scottish Parliament make it a bank holiday?
We’ll show you the answer at the end of this video.
St. Andrew was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ and one of the closest to Christ. St. Andrew is said to have been present at the Last Supper. He is the patron saint of Scotland because legend states that some of his remains were taken to Scotland during the fourth century, to a town now known as St. Andrews.
The flag of Scotland is a white cross in an X orientation on a blue background. This cross, called a Saltire, is known as the cross of St. Andrew because when he was crucified he refused the regular cross and was instead bound to an X shaped cross. Scotland's flag is said to be the oldest most continuously used flag design in the world, but the truth of that is open to debate and difficult to prove.
St. Andrews day is a celebration of all things Scottish. In the capital city Edinburgh, there is a week long celebration with traditional ceilidh dancing, Scottish food and bagpipe playing. Glasgow holds a big shindig, or party, to mark the day. School have special events and demonstrate things such as dancing and poetry.
The 30th of November is designated as an official flag day in Scotland. This means that every building with a flagpole must fly the flag of Scotland on that day.
And now I'll give you the answer to the earlier quiz.
The 30th of November is a public holiday in Scotland but it was only recently made so. In what year did the de-evolved Scottish Parliament make it a bank holiday?
It was made a public holiday in 2006. So, those north of the border get a public holiday for their patron saint, but those south of the border in England and Wales do not.
How was this lesson? Did you learn something interesting?
Does your country have official flag days?
Leave us a comment at EnglishClass101.com. And we'll see you in the next lesson!

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