St Andrew's Day (Nov. 30) is retained to the Apostle Andrew. Some relics of the Apostle are said to have been carried by a Greek devotee named St. Regulus, to Scotland, where they were placed in a church built on the ground of the city now called St. Andrews. Now, the apostle is revered as the patron saint of Scotland.
“HERE’S health and hail to Goth and Gael,
Wha bear the Norian’ name,
Blythe be they a’ - the far awa’,
And happier folk at hame!
And spend we gowd or but a grot,
Our drink be what it may,
Let Scot rejoice wi’ brither Scot,
Upon St. Andrew’s day.
Where’er we live, whate’er our lot,
Still will I plead and pray,
That Scot rejoice wi’ brither Scot,
Upon St. Andrew’s day.”
ST ANDREW'S MAGIC
On the Eve of St Andrews, the girls of Europe gather to divine their futures. In Moldova, young maidens hold one candle in each hand, and then, standing naked between two mirrors at the hour of midnight, they will be able to divine the future in the reflection shown behind them.
In Germany and Austria, girls would conduct their divinations using the ancient methods of Molybdomancy: pouring hot wax or molten metal into a cup of water, then holding the frozen form up to the light to make sense of the shadows that were cast by it.
It began to get dark at around 3:00 pm, and night came on by 4:00. It was cold, the stars seemed distant.
Jamie and I wandered the town, ate unholy amounts of candy floss, bought glowing wands, and wandered through the dark to the beach.
We clambered over the rocks, and wove our wands above the rock pools - It felt as if I was casting spells into black mirrors. Stars above me, stars in the water below and all around me was velvet night; it was a moment out of space and time.
We sang bittersweet songs of home.
