Numbered
among the Apostles, the brother of Simon Peter eventually became the revered
patron of both Greece and Scotland where his feast day, November 30, remains a
kind of national holiday. Andrew
(c. 10-60) may well have been, as tradition asserts, the founder of the church
at the site of Constantinople, but he was most assuredly the great reconciler,
as Scripture asserts. As a result,
his memory is celebrated by a day of forgiveness. Services of reconciliation are often followed by a great
feast of roasted or smoked beef, the telling of heroic tales, the reciting epic
poetry, and the singing of great ballads.
King David of Scotland, son of Malcolm Canmore and Queen. Margaret,
codified the day a national holiday in 1125—and so it has been ever since.
