Saint Andrew's Day, Scotland's National Day - 30 November

Scotland is a region in the north of the British Isles, covering a third of it and under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom. In the Scottish Gaelic language, Scotland is called Alba.

St. Andrew was one of the twelve apostles of Christ. He was born in Bethsaida next to the Sea of Galilee. He is considered the patron saint of Scotland and the Scottish town of St Andrews is named after him. He was crucified in the Greek city of Patras on an X-shaped cross, hence the shape of the Scottish flag.

Flag of Scotland

November 30 is St. Andrew's Day and for this reason it is Scotland's national holiday. This day is an official holiday in Scotland, and is celebrated with performances of Scottish culture, traditional Scottish food and music. In the city of St. Andrews and other cities the festivities continue for a week.

Scotland is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain which also consists of Wales, England and Northern Ireland. Although Scotland has been part of the UK for over 300 years, it has a separate legal system. Since 1999 Scotland has had a separate Parliament legislating on internal affairs. In 2014 there was a referendum on whether to remain part of the United Kingdom or become an independent state and 55% of Scots preferred to leave the situation as it is and stay in the kingdom.

The capital of Scotland is Edinburgh. It is also the second largest city in Scotland. The largest city in Scotland is Glasgow, which was once one of the most important industrial centers in the world. 

Scotland's maritime territory includes large parts of the North and North Atlantic Oceans and is home to significant EU oil reserves. Because of this, cities like Aberdeen rose to prominence which is the third largest city in Scotland and is also called the "oil capital of Europe".

Scotland's national dish is huggies, a stew made from chopped offal of lamb (lungs, liver, heart), mixed with onions, oatmeal, kidney fat, spices, salt and spinach, which are used as a filling in the stomach.  

Another unique Scottish dish is a deep-fried March or Oreo snack that can be found at eateries.

The most popular drink in the country is the whiskey and carbonated drink called Irn Bru which according to the polls is sold much more than both cola and Pepsi.

Huggies (Image Source) 

Why you should travel to Scotland?

Scotland is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. It has more than 790 islands of different sizes, it has long beaches with lots of bays that create amazing fjords, lots of lakes, ancient castles and lots of hills and green mountains.

Scottish Cows (Image Source) 

Castle in Edinburgh

Scottish soldiers parade with Scottish skirts and flutes (source)  

In Scotland you will find The Hobbit House, designed by Stuart Grant. Grant began designing the house in 1984, when the house was tiny, and he was poor. Since then he has improved and added and designed the house non-stop. Today the house looks amazing and he is happy to live in it. This comfortable home has two bedrooms, an office, a bathroom, kitchens, a fireplace and a small creek in the yard and Grant says he is not a fan of Super Tolkien and it is a coincidence that the house looks like Bilbo Baggins' house. The house is not a tourist site, Grant lives there with his wife, but they are willing to accept visitors if contacted in advance. Location: Tomic Village, Scottish Highlands, North West Scotland.

 Source of photos and more photos 

November 30 is also Computer Security Day