Englisch

Berufswissen

Login

Suchen

Top Ten Downloads

Home

Englisch

St Andrews Day => Aktuell: 30. November

History

Saint Andrew was one of Jesus’ disciples and lived in Bethsaida in Galilee (in present-day Israel). After Jesus’ crucifixion, Andrew travelled widely in Greece and Asia Minor, preaching the new Christian religion. The Roman authorities, however, were trying to stamp out the new religion, because it refused to worship the Emperor as a god. Andrew was crucified on a diagonal cross in Patras in southern Greece and buried there. 300 years after his death the Emperor Constantine decided to remove the Saint's bones to Constantinople, but according to legend the monk St. Regulus was warned in a dream by an angel, who told him to remove as many bones as he could to the "ends of the earth" to keep them safe. As far as the Greeks and Romans were concerned, Scotland was as near to the world's end as you could get, so some of his remains were taken to Scotland. St. Regulus brought the relics ashore at what is now St. Andrews and a chapel was built to house the bones, followed in 1160 by a cathedral. St. Andrews was the religious capital of Scotland and an important place of pilgrimage. A more plausible version of how the Saint's bones found their way to Scotland is that Acca, Bishop of Hexham, who was a renowned collector of religious relics, bought the bones quite legitimately and took them there in 733 AD. Unfortunately the bones have now disappeared; they probably were destroyed during the Reformation when anything connected with "Catholic idolatry" was removed. The site where the relics had been is now marked by a plaque in the ruins of the Cathedral in St. Andrews. Not all of St. Andrew's bones were originally sent to Scotland, the rest were stolen from Constantinople by the Crusaders in around 1204 and taken to Amalfi in Italy. In 1969 Pope Paul VI gave some relics to the Catholic Church in Scotland during a visit there. Today these are displayed in a reliquary in St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral in Edinburgh.

Scotland’s national flag

The cross St. Andrew was crucified on has been adopted as the national flag of Scotland, later incorporated into the Union Flag. One old legend says that in 832 AD an army of Scots led by King Angus was facing an army from the kingdom of Northumbria under Athelstan. The Scottish king prayed to St Andrew for help, and the saltire of St. Andrew (the diagonal cross) appeared above them against the background of a clear blue sky. This encouraged the Scots and the battle was duly fought and won, and the saltire is now the national flag (reputedly the oldest national flag in Europe.)

Today

St. Andrew is the Patron Saint of Scotland and his feast day is on November 30th.

St. Andrew's Day is mainly celebrated north of the Border and by Scots living outside of Scotland. The Saint's Day is usually a celebration with traditional food, music (especially bagpipes) and dancing, and of course good Scotch.

Fragen zum Textverständnis:

What is the meaning of the following words? (Use a dictionary!)
disciples – to stamp out – to worship – to remove – relics – renowned – idolatry – site – to display – to incorporate
Questions to the text

a) Who was St. Andrew and where did he come from?
b) What happened to St. Andrew and why?
c) What happened – according to a legend – to his bones 300 years after his death?
d) Can you see these relics today?
e) What can you see today in Edinburgh (concerning St. Andrew)?
f) What shows the Scottish national flag?
g) Is the flag part of any other flag?
h) What is St. Andrew for Scottish people today?

Answers:

disciples = Jünger – to stamp out = austreten, ausmerzen – to worship = anbeten, verehren – to remove = entfernen, wegnehmen – relics = Überreste, Relikte – renowned = berühmt, wohl bekannt – idolatry = Vergötterung, Abgötterei – site = Stätte – to display = ausstellen, zeigen – to incorporate = integrieren, eingliedern

a) St. Andrew was one of Jesus’ disciples and lived in Bethsaida in Galilee (in present-day Israel).
b) St. Andrew was crucified by the Roman authorities on a diagonal cross in Patras and was buried there. The reason for his crucification was that St. Andrew preached the new Catholic religion in Greece and Minor Asia, but the Romans wanted to stamp out this religion, because the feared for their glory.
c) 300 years after St. Andrew’s death the Emperor Constantine decided to remove his bones to Constantinople. According to legend the monk St. Regulus was warned in a dream by an angel, who told him to remove as many bones as he could to the "ends of the earth" to keep them safe.
The Romans and Greeks thought of Scotland as the near end of the world, so St. Regulus brought the relics ashore at what is now St. Andrews.
d) No, because they disappeared during the Reformation period.
e) In St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral in Edinburgh some relics of St. Andrew are displayed. These relics were stolen from Constantinople by the Crusaders in around 1204 and taken to Amalfi in Italy. In 1969 Pope Paul VI gave them to the Catholic Church in Scotland during a visit there.
f) + g) The national flag of Scotland shows the cross St. Andrew was crucified on, later it was incorporated into the Union Flag (the flag of the United Kingdom).
h) St. Andrew is the Patron Saint of Scotland and his feast day is on November 30th.