St Andrew’s Day
The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-01089, in the name of Kevin Stewart, on St Andrew’s day. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament notes that it is now over four years since the St Andrew’s Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Bill was unanimously approved by the Parliament; pays tribute to Dennis Canavan for his efforts in this regard; welcomes what it sees as the increasing interest in celebrating this national holiday but feels that more still needs to be done, and believes that everyone in Scotland should have the opportunity of celebrating their national identity, their cultural diversity and their membership of the international community on St Andrew’s Day.
17:05
First, I pay tribute to Dennis Canavan, who saw the St Andrew’s Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Bill through the Parliament. Mr Canavan was terrier-like in his actions on that issue. The first mention that I found of Mr Canavan with reference to St Andrew’s day was in the Hansard of 30 November 1983, when he asked the then Secretary of State for Scotland, George Younger, whether he would declare St Andrew’s day a public holiday in Scotland. George Younger replied:
“I have no authority in this matter as public holidays in Scotland are fixed locally by district councils.”—[Official Report, House of Commons, 30 November 1983; Vol 49, c 871.]
As I said, Mr Canavan was terrier-like in seeing his bill through Parliament, but I think that we still have quite a bit to go in celebrating St Andrew’s day.
Saint Andrew, of course, was a Christian apostle, the brother of Saint Peter, who became the first pope of the Catholic church. Andrew was the founder and first bishop of the church of Byzantium and is the patron saint of Scotland, Ukraine, Russia, Sicily, Greece, Romania, the diocese of Parañaque in the Philippines, Amalfi, Lucca and Malta. He is also the patron saint of fishermen, fishmongers, rope makers, golfers and performers.
Andrew preached in Asia Minor and in Scythia along the Black Sea, and was crucified in Patras on the northern coast of the Peloponnese. He was crucified on an X-shaped cross—that is, a saltire—reportedly at his request, as he deemed himself unworthy to be crucified on the same type of cross as Christ.
Legend has it that Andrew became the patron saint of Scotland in the 10th century after Angus II led an army of Picts and Scots in a battle against the Angles at Athelstaneford. On the day of the battle, Angus is said to have seen an X-shape in clouds in the sky, representing Saint Andrew—that is where we get our flag from. Angus’s army won the battle and Angus proclaimed Saint Andrew to be the Scots’ patron saint.
The feast of Saint Andrew is observed on 30 November in both the eastern and western churches and it is of course Scotland’s national day. Only yesterday, Archbishop Mario Conti said in the Independent Catholic News:
“Scotland is a nation with an ancient history, and that history is inextricably formed in the shape of the cross; the cross of St Andrew. ... To this day the St Andrew’s Cross is a flag which all Scots hoist with pride, and the emblem of our patron is emblazoned on many buildings and coats of arms, logos and letterheads across our country. And so it seems logical that we should mark our dear saint – the first of the apostles to be called by Christ – through a properly recognised national holiday.”
I agree with the archbishop on that point.
St Andrew’s day, however, is more than just a religious feast day; it should be about the history, the heritage and the culture of our nation. I sometimes feel that Scots abroad and Scots’ descendants abroad celebrate Saint Andrew more than we do.
The first Society of St Andrew was formed in Charleston, South Carolina, on 30 November 1729. It was founded by immigrant Scots, many of them from Aberdeen and Fife, and dedicated to the relief of suffering and distress among the inhabitants of the infant colony. Twenty years later, the St Andrew’s Society of Philadelphia was started by 25 Scottish residents, to give relief to the poor and distressed. Two signatories of the declaration of independence were founder members of that society: James Wilson, a graduate of the University of St Andrews, and John Witherspoon, a native of Paisley and president of Princeton college.
I could go on listing famous St Andrew’s societies across the world, but I do not intend to do so. We have our own ancient St Andrew’s Society of Aberdeen, and I have been pleased to attend its celebrations on more than one occasion. Unfortunately, I will not be there tonight. Those are all worthy examples of celebrations of our history, heritage and culture elsewhere in the world, and of the provision of poor relief in the early days in North America. Having talked to folks abroad about this, I believe that, even today, St Andrew’s day is a bigger event in other countries than it is here in our own nation.
Does Kevin Stewart agree that, if we were to mark St Andrew’s day as a national holiday, it could take on the same significance as St Patrick’s day does for Irish people and others, with the associated economic impact that that has across the globe?
I was just coming to that point. The Sunday Times this week stated that St Patrick’s day had made some €80 million for Ireland, which is good news for the hard-pressed Irish economy. Mr McDonald will know that, a few years back, the city of Aberdeen had some Commonwealth visitors at the time of St Patrick’s day. They asked whether the St Andrew’s day celebrations were wilder than those for St Patrick’s day, and I had to tell them that that was, unfortunately, not the case.
We must make St Andrew’s day better. In the past two years, children have had the day off, but that was due to adverse weather conditions last year and strikes this year. I want them to be able to have the day off for real, so that they can celebrate our patron saint on our national day.
17:12
I congratulate Kevin Stewart on securing this debate celebrating national identity. The increase in the celebration of St Andrew’s day is undoubtedly due in part to this Parliament reconvening some 12 years ago, and not least to Dennis Canavan’s act—the St Andrew’s Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007—which raised the profile of St Andrew’s day, although not to anywhere near the status of St Patrick’s day, as has been noted, or of Burns night. Google displayed the saltire on its home page this time last year, but it is not doing so today. I suggest that members encourage Google to display the saltire at this time next year, because that would be a huge advertisement for Scotland.
St Andrew gave us the saltire, and flags are at the beating heart of a nation. It was in 832 AD at Athelstaneford that the birth of the saltire of Scotland came about. The saltire was also used on the nation’s coinage when it was introduced by King David I in the 13th century. It has an ancient and honourable lineage. On this St Andrew’s day in our capital city, however, there is no St Andrew’s flag, no saltire, in prominent position on the castle. Why not? There is a false argument that the castle is an Army garrison; it is not. It ceased to be a garrison in 1920, and the Army is now there largely in a ceremonial capacity. If one were looking for a conspiracy, one might say that that argument provides a fig leaf for the supremacy of the union flag. Neither the Ministry of Defence nor Historic Scotland owns the castle. Under the terms of the Scotland Act 1998, the Government of Scotland owns it. Ministers own it. Historic Scotland is simply a custodian, and the Army is a tenant. I suggest that it is time that we changed the terms of that tenancy.
I am thankful that Historic Scotland saw the light and refused to have the Olympic rings erected on the castle ramparts, but I have another suggestion. Why do we not project a large saltire on the ramparts of the castle, just for the time being? Perhaps in these dark times, as we watch the dying throes of UK plc, it might inspire those who are on strike for fairness for pensions to recognise that the future lies not in Westminster, with its gloom, falling productivity and increased unemployment, taxes, VAT, pension contributions and fuel duty and that that is not the only choice. Independence, under the St Andrew’s flag of Scotland, the saltire, is another choice, and they and later generations can have a just and equitable future. Raising that vision would be the rallying call that we need—the flag of St Andrew over a capital city, not just today, but every day.
17:16
I congratulate Kevin Stewart on securing today’s debate. I have just returned from a European and External Relations Committee trip to Brussels, where we were greatly entertained by Dr Louise Richardson, the principal of the University of St Andrews, the third-oldest seat of higher learning in the UK. She talked about that, about St Andrew and about the importance of the four-year university course, which gives students a decent chance to be enlightened in the country that, after all, initiated the enlightenment and the creation of western civilisation as we now know it.
She emphasised that St Andrews is a Scottish, British and European university, which I found quite refreshing, but she complained strongly about the extraordinary anomaly that means that English students have to pay fees while those from other EU member states do not. I do not think that St Andrew would have approved of that unfair and—dare I say it?—anti-English position.
Will the member give way?
I thought that that might cause a slight disturbance, but I will not give way at the moment.
St Andrew was Jesus’s first apostle and a fisherman, to boot. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and he can do the same for many others for a lifetime. Jesus said to all his apostles that they should “become fishers of men”. Owing to the lack of hills in Belgium, the sky sits at a low level and seems almost touchable. For once, it was blue with fluffy clouds, and crossed with the white condensation trails of numerous aeroplanes. One saw at once the saltire, Scotland’s national flag, which St Andrew perceived in a dream. Some have unfairly suggested that, like all fishermen, he was good at telling whoppers, but I do not think so.
As Kevin Stewart and others have been, I am happy to pay tribute to our former colleague, Dennis Canavan, who made a significant contribution to the work of this Parliament between 1999 and 2007, not least in his determination to raise the profile of St Andrew’s day, which he continues to do with passion outwith the Parliament. The Scottish Conservatives’ position on the issue has been consistent and clear. We have always been supportive of the desire to have St Andrew’s day as a bank holiday, but in exchange for another day, not in addition to existing days. That was the approach that was adopted in the St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007, and we remain supportive of that. St Andrew’s day is, correctly, a voluntary public holiday. We did not support the argument that St Andrew’s day must be a compulsory national holiday, because the cost of that would fall on businesses—especially small businesses—and the taxpayer.
Will the member give way?
In a moment.
CBI Scotland has stated that more and more firms are moving away from shutting on specified days and towards a system in which employees have an annual leave entitlement and decide for themselves, in agreement with the employer, when to take holidays. We are content for employers to engage with employees to discuss taking St Andrew’s day off. It might well suit people with children or partners who are doing the same thing. We agree with the sentiment that was so ably expressed by Christine Grahame that St Andrew’s day is a useful opportunity for all of us to celebrate the culture and traditions of Scotland and to showcase Scotland. We support the businesses, shops and tourism enterprises that use St Andrew’s day to boost their trade.
On my return from Brussels yesterday, I was delighted to see the baggage trollies in Edinburgh airport adorned with the saltire. However, since it was originally St Andrew’s flag and was later adopted as the Scottish flag, there should be a mention of St Andrew himself on the special day that now commemorates him.
Will the member take an intervention?
All right.
No. I would be grateful if you would close, please, Mr McGrigor. You have had four minutes.
Oh. Right. In that case, it is interesting to note that some English schools and institutions recognise St Andrew’s day. One of those is Eton College, the educational establishment of our Prime Minister, our former Presiding Officer Alex Fergusson and—representing the lesser mortals—me.
17:20
I congratulate Kevin Stewart on securing the debate at this appropriate time. I recall that, when I was a schoolchild in Glasgow, we had a school holiday on St Andrew’s day. That was continued for only a few years. As a student and teacher and with my family, I took the chance to celebrate our national day as I could. As we heard, Scotland’s saltire is the oldest national flag in Europe. Our history as a nation was forged around the pre-eminence of the Scots victors and the bishopric of St Andrews.
The member is talking about history, and he is probably aware that, in 1335 in my constituency, the battle of Culblean took place, at which Sir Andrew Moray thwarted Edward III’s attempt to overthrow or take control of the Scottish crown. At that time, Andrew de Moray was the guardian for David II, the son of Robert the Bruce. Would the member like to illustrate that?
Yes, indeed. Culblean was an opportunity for Edward Balliol and Edward III to rule north and south, but Moray and Douglas prevented that. It was most important in the middle ages that Scotland stayed together as an entity.
I was delighted when, in 2006, the Parliament agreed to Dennis Canavan’s St Andrew’s Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Bill. I welcome the fact that the Scottish Government’s website encourages participation, although it is slightly worrying that St Andrew’s day information is sandwiched between information on flooding and being ready for winter and alcohol.
I want that legislation to be developed so that we have a full holiday for all Scots. People around the world are looking to us today to see how that develops. I have a press statement from Hillary Rodham Clinton entitled “On the Occasion of Scotland’s St Andrew’s Day”, which states:
“On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am delighted to send best wishes to the people of Scotland as you celebrate St Andrew’s Day this November 30. In Caledonian societies and Scottish clubs from New York to Chicago, across America and the world, people of Scottish origin will be celebrating with you.”
It continues:
“As you celebrate this special day, know that the United States is a partner and friend. I wish the people of Scotland and those of Scottish descent around the world a happy St Andrew’s Day celebration.”
I will refer to a body that is as esteemed as the President of America: Renfrewshire Council—[Laughter.]—has been leading the way on St Andrew’s day, despite the strikes and bad weather. Does the member welcome the fact that the SNP-led administration of Renfrewshire Council has already made St Andrew’s day a school holiday?
I very much welcome that. It is obvious that opinion is growing that St Andrew’s day should be a full national public holiday. Post-legislative scrutiny of the St Andrew’s Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007 should be carried out. If a suitable committee came up with such a proposal, it might be passed.
Thanks to the calendar of saints, we are saddled with the rather wintry day of 30 November. St Columba’s day is 9 June, when the weather is rather better. I just wish that Scotland’s patron saint had a day on which we could go out and celebrate. However, that should not prevent us from celebrating. I am delighted to have joined the debate this evening.
17:25
I congratulate Kevin Stewart on securing the debate—his first members’ business debate—on this important issue. I also thank him for the litany of information about St Andrew that he provided. My only regret is that I was not able to take notes, so I will have to refer to the Official Report tomorrow.
I also congratulate Jamie McGrigor. I was unaware of St Andrew’s perspective on higher education funding in 21st century Scotland and it is useful to have that information. It is also useful to know that he attended Eton college because I thought that he went to Possilpark secondary school in Glasgow.
I will comment on Mr McGrigor’s speech. I, too, was in Brussels this week. We did not need to use our imaginations when looking at the aeroplane trails in the sky to see the saltire because the Scottish Government flies the flag at Scotland house. We are waiting to see it being flown shortly outside the Council of Ministers as well.
Wherever the saltire is flown, we should always welcome it.
I also join Kevin Stewart in paying tribute to Dennis Canavan’s efforts in campaigning for the St Andrew’s day holiday. I was not privileged to be a member of the Parliament at the same time as Dennis Canavan, but I worked here in another capacity while he was a member. The high esteem in which he was then held was clear, as is the high esteem in which he is held today. Much of that is down to his efforts in creating a St Andrew’s day holiday.
The debate is something of a reprise from last year, when John Wilson lodged a similar motion. It is clear that the issue is of continuing interest to MSPs.
I agree with the statement in Kevin Stewart’s motion that there is increasing interest in celebrating St Andrew’s day. I see that in the communities that I represent. I will be particularly parochial: my young daughter attends a nursery in Cumbernauld and, over the past week, I have been impressed at its efforts to raise awareness of Scottish traditions and raise money for charity along the way. That culminated in a ceilidh today, which I hope that my daughter enjoyed. That indicates that, sadly, she did not get a St Andrew’s day holiday, but I will give her time off in lieu on Friday.
That also reflects my wider experience. When I go into the schools and nurseries in the communities that I represent, I see that St Andrew’s day is increasingly recognised. That is welcome and indicates that Kevin Stewart was correct to say that there is increasing interest in celebrating it. However, I agree that we need to do more to make it a widely celebrated public holiday.
Jamie McGrigor rose—
I am tempted to say that Mr McGrigor is on to buttons, given that he would not let anyone intervene on him. Do I have time to let him intervene, Presiding Officer?
Yes.
I promise to be brief. I am sorry that I did not take an intervention from Jamie Hepburn, but I ran out of time. He talked about schools recognising St Andrew’s day. The reason why I made the point about Eton—which was a serious point, in fact—was that I feel that, if it can hold St Andrew’s day in esteem and make it a holiday, more institutions in Scotland should do the same.
Mr Hepburn, I will give you a little more time, as you took an intervention.
I should clarify that I did not seek to intervene on Jamie McGrigor, but some of my colleagues did.
I was being slightly disingenuous in my comment about Eton, but I welcome its recognition of St Andrew’s day. However, some of the suggestions that Jamie McGrigor made for encouraging further celebration of St Andrew’s day in Scotland were rather piecemeal. More needs to happen here.
It is often suggested that a public holiday comes with an economic cost—that there is a negative impact on the economy. On the contrary, such national holidays can be considered an economic lever. Kevin Stewart made that point well when he referred to the primary example of the St Patrick’s day celebrations in Ireland and further afield. We should, of course, aspire to have St Andrew’s day celebrated internationally in just the way that St Patrick’s day is. St Patrick’s day is a huge party for the Irish people and levers a significant amount of money into the economy. St Andrew’s day should be the same in Scotland.
17:29
I congratulate my colleague Kevin Stewart MSP on securing the debate and thank him for bringing the matter of how we celebrate St Andrew’s day to the Parliament’s attention on St Andrew’s day itself.
Our national day for St Andrew has been overshadowed to a degree by the dispute over United Kingdom public sector pensions. An unintended consequence of that has been that more people than normal are having a day off and I very much hope that Scotland, our nation and our patron saint, Andrew the Apostle, are somewhere in their hearts on this difficult day.
As my colleague said, we owe a debt of gratitude to Dennis Canavan for pursuing this issue on our behalf and ensuring that much more could be done to make it a national day to celebrate. I know that we share Andrew with our friends in Greece, Russia and other countries and that we share our blue-and-white saltire with the island of Tenerife. From my own, admittedly limited knowledge—confirmed, thankfully, by Kevin Stewart—I am aware that Andrew was crucified by the Romans in Patras around AD 60 on a saltire-shaped cross at his own request, which suggested that he did not feel worthy to be put to death in the same manner as his saviour Jesus. His relics are scattered around the world, including here in Scotland.
Obviously, we will never know for certain whether we Scots or Picts adopted Andrew as our saviour at the battle of Athelstaneford after praying to him for victory and the subsequent appearance of his saltire in the sky. However, the story is shared with children around Scotland as one of the sources of our close attachment to him and his adoption as our patron saint.
In these modern times, we do a lot to celebrate St Andrew’s day and to share with the world the best of what Scotland has to offer. However, we could do a lot more. Perhaps we should, as some members have suggested, take some pointers from our Irish cousins, who push the boat out and celebrate St Patrick’s day in grand style. Ireland has a national public holiday and families get together, celebrate Ireland and basically invite the world to the party. Not only is it a wonderful day for people to come together, it offers a huge boost to trade in Ireland and beyond.
What is stopping us emulating or bettering that in Scotland? Sadly, we seem to haggle over having an extra day, a substitute day or a flexible day and cannot make our minds up about what is best.
I agree completely and utterly with the member that we should not substitute St Andrew’s day for another public holiday. However, I would be willing to substitute another holiday with independence day, which should also be a public holiday. Does he agree?
Absolutely.
Let us hope that we can change things and make St Andrew’s day a day to remember in Scotland and a day on which we invite our friends in the world to come and celebrate with us. With our cultural diversity, our music and our poetry, we have much to offer the world.
I want to finish this brief speech with a small offering I picked up some years ago that takes the liberty of imagining Andrew on the cross at his crucifixion and wonders what might be going through his mind.
“You have brought me to such despair that seemed gone,
lost in the shining light I had found.
For a moment a raging anger casts a shadow upon my faith.
But passes quickly with the love I have for my true saviour.
And to future people yet unknown
I vow to hear your prayers
and wrest you from the evil scourge of subjugation.
Not yet the blood of Andrew spilled.
Not yet the nation Scotland born.
But from this day throughout the lands
where freedom lies unwon
l will protect and deliver your people ...
... for Libertie shall be their just reward!”
I am delighted to be able to speak in this short debate and to offer my whole-hearted support to Kevin Stewart for bringing St Andrew’s day to the floor of the Scottish Parliament.
17:33
It is interesting to see the great interest in the St Andrew’s day holiday and, as members have suggested in the debate, it might be appropriate to increase the holiday entitlement. Given that in the past three debates in which I have participated, members have invited me to comment on the absence of folk from other parties, I simply welcome the fact that the Labour Party appears to consider this to be a holiday already.
I ought to thank Kevin Stewart for lodging the motion for debate. It allows me to update the Parliament on this year’s St Andrew’s day events and to confirm the Scottish Government’s support for and recognition of our national day.
St Andrew’s day gives all Scots an excellent opportunity to celebrate our patron saint and all aspects of our country. I have some sympathy with Dennis Canavan and his regret that few public bodies have taken on board the spirit of the legislation since it was enacted following royal assent in January 2007. I am delighted to recognise that Renfrewshire Council has done so, along with three other local authorities, but we still have 28 to go. Although it is true, as George Younger responded to Dennis Canavan in the 1980s, that such matters are for local authorities, I think that the other 28 perhaps need to wake up and be encouraged to deal with the day in a similar way.
Members may recall that the St Andrew’s Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007 was not in any way prescriptive. Some members may now seek such prescription, but I do not know whether we need to go down that route just yet. Indeed, the act was framed in such a way as to allow a flexible interpretation by public and private bodies alike.
For its part, the Scottish Government has continued to encourage all parts of Scotland, and public bodies in particular, to recognise St Andrew’s day. Indeed, a special programme of events across Scotland has been organised as part of Scotland’s winter festivals. As members will be aware, through that funding process the Scottish Government is supporting the delivery of five St Andrew’s day events—in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, St Andrews and East Lothian—which started on Friday 25 November and have run through to today to mark our national holiday.
Through our continuing partnership with Historic Scotland, Scots and visitors alike were also able on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 November to visit more than 40 sites participating in the visit for free programme, with Edinburgh castle and St Andrews castle and cathedral being open for free today. Some 63 Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions and non-ASVA sites also offered free or discounted entry on the 26, 27 and 30 November. That represents a clear groundswell of support for St Andrew’s day.
Scottish ministers will be engaging in activity around the world to celebrate St Andrew’s day. This year, the First Minister is attending an event in Beijing, and the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs is attending an event in Ottawa and hosting a reception in Washington DC—and the Scottish Government is delighted with the statement that Hillary Clinton issued on behalf of President Obama, which my colleague Rob Gibson referred to. It is great to have such international recognition of and support for our national day and its celebrations. The Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport is also attending an event in Brussels.
Legend has it that the monk St Regulus—or St Rule—was instructed to take St Andrew’s remains to the ends of the earth for safe keeping. It is therefore fitting that his feast day should be celebrated not just in Scotland but in far-flung parts of the world. They may not all be held on 30 November or run quite according to the traditional plan, but the various St Andrew’s day festivities all share one thing in common—a celebration of everything that makes Scotland great.
Countless ceilidhs, dinners and concerts are being held around the globe. From Australia to Zambia, around the world countries are celebrating St Andrew’s day. The planned celebrations include a ball in the United Arab Emirates organised by the Scottish St Andrew’s Society of Abu Dhabi and a ball in Bermuda organised by the Caledonian Society of Bermuda.
It is worth drawing the comparison between Scotland and other countries and the number of public holidays that are recognised. The figures that I have been given are that Scotland has nine public holidays while Belgium, France, Germany and Ireland have 10, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Italy and Luxembourg have 12, and Austria and Malta have 14. That is not to say that we should aspire to copy other countries, but Scotland is a nation of hard-working, passionate and proud individuals who by and large care deeply about their Scottishness. Acknowledging and honouring their patron saint is just one way of celebrating their nationality.
Schools are getting behind the St Andrew’s day holiday. Four authorities have decided to organise a school holiday on or around St. Andrew’s day: in addition to Renfrewshire Council, we have Angus, Dumfries and Galloway, and Scottish Borders.
Yes!
I am delighted to hear support for that.
I am confident that, in the years ahead, recognition of the holiday will grow. I hope that, through growth at grass-roots level, the local authorities in Scotland, which have a duty to act on behalf of the public in their localities, will recognise the holiday and that constructive negotiations between workers’ representatives and employers will lead to it eventually becoming an additional holiday.
I thank the minister for mentioning Scottish Borders Council, which held the holiday on Monday. I also point out that it flies the saltire every day of the week, every week of the year.
I am delighted to acknowledge that and it is something that should be encouraged, particularly to celebrate people’s Scottishness. That might be apposite in the Borders, which is in close proximity to the border. It is therefore important.
I am confident that, in the years ahead, recognition of the holiday will grow and it may well become an additional holiday. That would be done better by agreement than by imposition. I encourage all members to join in their local celebrations, wherever they are, on our national saint’s day.
I wish everyone a happy St Andrew’s day and draw this meeting of the Parliament to a close.
Meeting closed at 17:42.