"To the Ends of the Earth"

 

Today is St Andrew’s Day, feast day of Scotland’s patron saint. Andrew was one of Christ’s apostles and his connection to Scotland goes back nearly 1,500 years. In 733 a Byzantine monk named Relugas was commanded to remove the Andrew’s relics from Constantinople to “the ends of the earth”.  In sailing as far as he could, Relugas eventually landed with Andrew’s bones on the east coast of Fife, at a spot now known as St Andrew’s.  Today, all around the world Scots are celebrating our national day, so where better for Melanie and I to be than with our friends from Grandfather Mountain Games Buddy, Beth and Sam Arnold in Johnson City, east Tennessee.

As the Scottish historian Prof Tom Devine has observed, Scots have long been a travelling people.  In his excellent history, “To the Ends of the Earth” he accounts for this global phenomenon and why today’s date will be celebrated in the US and Canada, and also across Europe, India, Australia, New Zealand and the Far East.  In travelling, we have taken our customs and culture with us. Our tartan, pipe bands, the poetry of Robert Burns and our romantic history are just some of the icons of what is considered to be a global brand.

Over the past few weeks, it has become clear to me that the celebration of Scottish heritage is not confined to the Scottish highland games and festivals, or even St Andrew’s day and Burns Night.  These are important events, and indeed Melanie and I were delighted to be invited to the St Andrew’s Society of Atlanta annual dinner a couple of weeks ago (kilts swinging to the Atlanta Swing Band being a fun example of a fusion of Scottish and American cultures).  As I tour around Scottish games and festivals, the people I meet often tell me of the other Scottish and Celtic events that they attend throughout the year. And as I am finding out, the calendar in Atlanta is full of such events.

Tonight as we celebrate our culture and heritage, we also pay tribute to the international outlook of the Scots whose contribution to world history has been disproportionate to our size. This feat was acknowledged earlier today by the Prime Minister, David Cameron who said in his St Andrew’s Day message:

“Scotland's people are international in their outlook and have taken their flair, inventiveness and determination to succeed to the four corners of the globe. Scots and Scotland have done so much to shape our modern world. So, this is a day for everyone to celebrate our shared history and look forward to our future prosperity together”.