November 30th is St. Andrew’s Day, the patron saint of Scotland! A fisherman from Galilee, St. Andrew and his brother Simon Peter were both a part of Christ’s twelve apostles. He was a preacher of Christianity and after his crucifixion at Patras, it is claimed that his remains were buried in Scotland.
Today, the soul of St. Andrew is alive and well. Scots are marked by his good deeds and are known as a friendly, outgoing, and charitable people eager to help out anyone who crosses their path. They have also been celebrating St. Andrew himself by holding feasts over the past one-thousand years. Even people of Scottish heritage in the United States are inspired by him, and have created charitable organizations in his name to help the poor, such as St. Andrew’s Society of Charleston and St. Andrew’s Society of New York. In fact, it wasn’t until US Scottish expats came to Scotland in the 18th century that celebrating St. Andrew specifically on November 30th became commonplace.
St. Andrew’s Day 2018 promises to bring another fantastic year of celebration with plenty of winter festivals, a torchlight parade, and museum events to learn more about this captivating figure and his place in history. Most importantly, Scotland wants to inspire the world through St. Andrew to #makesomeonesday by posting their acts of kindness. The theme of this year’s event is friendliness and inclusivity, and to show that through multiple small acts of kindness, we can make a big difference.
That is definitely a message we here at Prométour can get behind, and we hope that your school gets on board as well. Why not do a lesson on St. Andrew, and then have your students get into groups to come up with their own charitable projects to help out the community? The possibilities are endless, and it is a great way to cultivate their sense of creativity and altruism.
Travel can be a great way to get students interested in becoming responsible, curious, and active global citizens. Feel free to learn more about this year’s St. Andrew's Day event.