St. Andrew's Day Celebrations Around the World

St. Andrew's Day is celebrated in Scotland and by Scots around the world on 30 November with traditional foods such as haggis, fish, Scotch broth and whisky often on the menu, accompanied by music and dancing to warm up a cold November day. But Scotland is not alone in considering him their patron saint.

Russia, Greece, Romania, Sicily, Amalfi in Italy and Luqa in Malta all have St. Andrew as their patron saint too, and have their own ways of celebrating the day.

In Romania there are numerous traditions such as carols and special baptisms related to St. Andrew. The saint is purported to have been the first to have preached Christianity to the native people of the Dacians – ancestors of modern day Romanians.

In Italy, the town and cathedral of Amalfi is dedicated to the saint and is home to a tomb that supposedly contains relics of the apostle. The town celebrates St. Andrew's day on 30 September and the day is significant for its reverence of the miracle of the substance known as 'manna'’, which the relics of the saint are said to exude.

In Malta, the village of Luqa is thought to have adopted the saint as their patron because so many fishermen lived there and St. Andrew is also the patron saint of fishermen.

The feast day for the saint is very important and takes place in the first week of July. The village comes alive with decorations and two local club bands "Kazin tal-Banda l-Unjoni" (Union Club Band) and "Kazin tal-Banda Sant'Andrija" (St. Andrew's Club Band) perform and contribute toward the setting up of the decorations. The celebrations last all week and on the Sunday the statue of St. Andrew is brought out of the church and carried along in a procession. Fireworks end the year’s feasting and the next day everyone goes for a day at the beach.

In Greece relics of St. Andrew are kept at St. Andrew Basilica in Patras. Many villages throughout Greece celebrate St. Andrew's day on 30 November with small fairs organised by the local churches and municipalities. There is food laid on by the church and folk music and dancing. The celebration might include the local wine, bread, dairy or sweet products – whatever the town or village is best known for will be in abundance. In some areas the festival also marks the last day of autumn and the onset of winter.

In Russia celebrating St. Andrew's day was a popular pre-revolution festival, but was banned during communism. It has now made a recovery with many Russians taking the traditional date of 30 November and making it an opportunity for a celebration with borsch and vodka, and a sing-along on the accordion and balalaika.

It's not just countries for whom St. Andrew is patron saint that celebrate in his name though. In Germany St. Andrew's Day is celebrated as Andreasnacht and in Austria a special prayer called Andreadgebet is performed.

Germany and Austria also share the superstition that the night before St. Andrew's Day a girl can reveal her future husband by performing an act of divination such as pouring hot lead into water, or performing an attracting spell. Another custom is to throw a clog over your shoulder – if it lands pointing toward the door the girl will get married the same year.