St.nAndrew is the patron saint of Scotland, so this feast day isnScotland’s national day.
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n Younmay wonder why Scotland rates a “national day,” since it is notn“really” a nation. Instead, Scotland joins Wales, England, andnNorthern Ireland in the nation known as the United Kingdom of GreatnBritain and Northern Ireland.
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nAlthoughnScotland has been a part of Great Britain for more than 300 years, itnhas a separate legal system. Since 1999 Scotland has had a separatenparliament that makes laws for “home affairs” (Scottish-onlynissues). And Scots will vote in 2014 to determine whether Scotlandnstays part of the U.K. or becomes fully independent.
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nRightnnow, it’s looking as if less than a third of all Scots wantnindependence, but things could change! I found a lot of debate aboutnwhether Scotland should stay or go on the internet. It will beninteresting to see what happens…
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nExplorenScotland…
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nScotlandn is a gorgeous country with more than 790 islands. Scotland’sn mainland lies on the northern third of Britain’s main island. Checkn out Scotland with this beautiful slide show.
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- Enjoyn a video about a few of the islands of Scotland—andn the narrator’s delightful Scottish accent!
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- Check out the galleries of beautiful photos at Scotland-landscapes-dot-com.
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nDidnyou know…?
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nAlthoughnthe ancient Roman Empire ruled the rest of the island of GreatnBritain (called Britannia by the Romans) from year 43 to around 410,nit didn’t rule over Scotland (called Caledonia). The natural thingnfor the Romans was to try to conquer the entire main island, and theyndid win some battles in Scotland. However, they didn’t hold ontonScottish lands, and by the time of Emperor Hadrian’s reign, it seemednthat the best thing to do was to stop trying to control them. Indeed,nHadrian’s orders were to build a wall and defend the Roman-Empirenportion of Britain from Caledonia. n
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ThenScots were so fierce and troublesome, apparently, that Hadrian’s Wallnbecame the most heavily fortified border in the entire 2.5-millionnsquare mile Empire!
ThenScots were so fierce and troublesome, apparently, that Hadrian’s Wallnbecame the most heavily fortified border in the entire 2.5-millionnsquare mile Empire!n
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nHadrian’snWall was 80 Roman miles long and was made from stone in some areasnand from turf in other areas. It varied from 10 to 20 feet wide andnfrom 11 to 20 feet high, and it was fortified by ditches, berms, andnforts. We can still see some parts of this wall today!
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nTonlearn more about Scotland…
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nChecknout this earlier blog post on tartans,nthis post on Scotland’s northern islands,nthis other post about the Loch Ness Monster,nand this one on Scottish poet Robert Burns.
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nAlsonon this date:
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Author Mark Twain’s birthday
Author Mark Twain’s birthday n
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nYemen’s Independence Day
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nBenin’s National Day
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nAnniversary of the discovery of a statue of Ramses II