Culture of Scotland - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The culture of Scotland refers to the patterns of human activity and symbol

Symbol

A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...

ism associated with Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

and the Scottish people

Scottish people

The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...

. Some elements of Scottish culture, such as its separate national church

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

, are protected in law as agreed in the Treaty of Union

Treaty of Union

The Treaty of Union is the name given to the agreement that led to the creation of the united kingdom of Great Britain, the political union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, which took effect on 1 May 1707...

, and other instruments. Scottish culture, like that of the many of Northern European nations (for example Ireland & England), has been described as a pub culture or drinking culture, whereby consumption of alcohol has deep rooted tradition - along with pride of working class heritage, which is common in all of Britain. Many Scottish people, like the Welsh, Irish, Manx and Cornish, are of Celtic origin.

Scots law

Scotland retains Scots Law

Scots law

Scots law is the legal system of Scotland. It is considered a hybrid or mixed legal system as it traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. With English law and Northern Irish law it forms the legal system of the United Kingdom; it shares with the two other systems some...

, its own unique legal system, based on Roman law

Roman law

Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...

, which combines features of both civil law

Civil law (legal system)

Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...

and common law

Common law

Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...

. The terms of union with England specified the retention of separate systems. The barristers called advocates, and the judges of the high court for civil cases are also the judges for the high court for criminal cases. Scots Law differs from England's common law system.
Formerly, there were several regional law systems in Scotland, one of which was Udal Law

Udal Law

Udal law is a near-defunct Norse derived legal system, which is found in Shetland and Orkney, Scotland and in Manx law at the Isle of Man. It is closely related to Odelsrett....

(also called allodail or odal law) in Shetland and Orkney. This was a direct descendant of Old Norse Law, but was abolished in 1611 . Despite this, Scottish courts have acknowledged the supremacy of udal law in some property cases as recently as the 1990s. There is a movement to restore udal lawhttp://www.udallaw.com/ to the islands as part of a devolution of power from Edinburgh to Shetland and Orkney.
Various systems based on common Celtic Law also survived in the Highlands until the 1800s.

Banking and currency

Banking in Scotland also features unique characteristics. Although the Bank of England

Bank of England

The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...

remains the central bank for the UK Government, three Scottish corporate banks still issue their own banknote

Banknote

A banknote is a kind of negotiable instrument, a promissory note made by a bank payable to the bearer on demand, used as money, and in many jurisdictions is legal tender. In addition to coins, banknotes make up the cash or bearer forms of all modern fiat money...

s: the Bank of Scotland

Bank of Scotland

The Bank of Scotland plc is a commercial and clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. With a history dating to the 17th century, it is the second oldest surviving bank in what is now the United Kingdom, and is the only commercial institution created by the Parliament of Scotland to...

, the Royal Bank of Scotland

Royal Bank of Scotland

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is a British banking and insurance holding company in which the UK Government holds an 84% stake. This stake is held and managed through UK Financial Investments Limited, whose voting rights are limited to 75% in order for the bank to retain its listing on the...

and the Clydesdale Bank

Clydesdale Bank

Clydesdale Bank is a commercial bank in Scotland, a subsidiary of the National Australia Bank Group. In Scotland, Clydesdale Bank is the third largest clearing bank, although it also retains a branch network in London and the north of England...

Sports

Scotland competes in sporting events such as the football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

World Cup. Scotland cannot compete in the Olympic Games

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

independently however, and
in athletics, Scotland has competed for the Celtic Cup, against teams from Wales and Ireland, since the inaugural event in 2006. Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales, first proposed by Lawrie Sanchez

Lawrie Sanchez

Lawrence Philip "Lawrie" Sanchez is a former Northern Irish football manager, and a former player. He is currently the manager of League Two side Barnet...

(the then Northern Ireland coach) in 2006, is to begin in 2011.

Scotland is the "Home of Golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

", and is well known for its courses. As well as its world famous Highland Games

Highland games

Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &(-è_çà in Scotland and other countries as a way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic culture and heritage, especially that of the Scottish Highlands. Certain...

(athletic competitions), it is also the home of curling

Curling

Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...

, and shinty

Shinty

Shinty is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands, and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread, being once competitively played on a widespread basis in England and other areas in the...

, a stick game similar to Ireland's hurling

Hurling

Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...

. Scottish cricket is a minority game.

Media

Scotland has distinct media from the rest of the UK. For example, it produces many national newspapers such as the Daily Record
Daily Record (Scotland)
The Daily Record is a Scottish tabloid newspaper based in Glasgow. It had been the best-selling daily paper in Scotland for many years with a paid circulation in August 2011 of 307,794 . It is now outsold by its arch-rival the Scottish Sun which in September 2010 had a circulation of 339,586 in...

(Scotland's leading tabloid), the broadsheet

Broadsheet

Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...

The Herald

The Herald (Glasgow)

The Herald is a broadsheet newspaper published Monday to Saturday in Glasgow, and available throughout Scotland. As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 47,226, giving it a lead over Scotland's other 'quality' national daily, The Scotsman, published in Edinburgh.The 1889 to 1906 editions...

, based in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, and The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....

in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

Sunday newspapers include the tabloid Sunday Mail
Sunday Mail (Scotland)
The Sunday Mail is a Scottish tabloid newspaper published every Sunday. It is the sister paper of the Daily Record and is owned by Trinity Mirror and as such has a left-wing outlook which in turn tends to guide Scottish political debate in that direction.The Sunday Mail is read by over one million...

(published by Daily Record parent company Trinity Mirror and the Sunday Post, while the Sunday Herald
Sunday Herald
The Sunday Herald is a Scottish Sunday newspaper launched on 7 February 1999. The ABC audited circulation in April 2011 showed sales of 31,123.From the start it has combined a centre-left stance with support for Scottish devolution...

and Scotland on Sunday
Scotland on Sunday
Scotland on Sunday is a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published in Edinburgh by The Scotsman Publications Ltd and consequently assuming the role of Sunday sister to its daily stablemate The Scotsman...

have associations with The Herald and The Scotsman respectively.)

Regional dailies include The Courier and Advertiser
The Courier
The Courier & Advertiser, more commonly known as simply The Courier, is a broadsheet newspaper published by DC Thomson in Dundee, Scotland...

in Dundee

Dundee

Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...

and the east, and The Press and Journal
Press and Journal (Scotland)
The Press and Journal, often called the P&J, is a daily regional newspaper serving the northern counties of Scotland including the cities of Aberdeen and Inverness...

serving Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

and the north.

Scotland has its own BBC

BBC Scotland

BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...

services which include the national radio stations, BBC Radio Scotland

BBC Radio Scotland

BBC Radio Scotland is BBC Scotland's national English-language radio network. It broadcasts a wide variety of programming, including news, sport, light entertainment, music, the arts, comedy, drama, history and lifestyle...

and Scottish Gaelic language service, BBC Radio nan Gaidheal

BBC Radio nan Gàidheal

BBC Radio nan Gàidheal is a British radio station, broadcasting in Scottish Gaelic. It is operated by the BBC as part of its portfolio of television and radio services broadcasting to Scotland....

. There are also a number of BBC and independent local radio stations throughout the country. In addition to radio, BBC Scotland also runs two national television stations. Much of the output of BBC Scotland Television, such as news and current affairs programmes, and the Glasgow-based soap opera, River City
River City
River City is a Scottish television soap opera, first broadcast in Scotland on BBC Scotland on 24 September 2002. River City storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional district of Shieldinch in Glasgow...

, are intended for broadcast within Scotland, while others, such as drama and comedy programmes, aim at audiences throughout the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

and further afield.

Two Independent Television

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

stations, STV and ITV1

ITV1

ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...

, also broadcast in Scotland. Most of the independent television output equates to that transmitted in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the exception of news and current affairs, sport, comedy, cultural and Scottish Gaelic language programming.

There are also two Gaelic language channels, Tele-G

Tele-G

TeleG was established as the first daily digital Gaelic TV channel in Scotland on 31 October 1999 and was available on the Freeview platform until 23 May 2011.Programmes were transmitted on TeleG between 6–7pm each day...

and BBC Alba which broadcast across the UK at certain times of the day.

As one of the Celtic nations, Scotland is represented at the Celtic Media Festival

Celtic Media Festival

The Celtic Media Festival, previously known as the Celtic Film and Television Festival, aims to promote the languages and cultures of the Celtic nations on screen and in broadcasting. The festival is an annual three-day celebration of broadcasting and film from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall...

(formerly known as the Celtic International Film Festival). Scottish entrants have won many awards since the festival began in 1980. Scottish sponsors and partners of the event include Highlands and Islands Enterprise

Highlands and Islands Enterprise

Highlands and Islands Enterprise is the Scottish Government's economic and community development agency for a diverse region which covers more than half of Scotland and is home to around 450,000 people....

, BBC Scotland

BBC Scotland

, MG Alba, Scottish Screen

Scottish Screen

Scottish Screen is the national body for film and television in Scotland, established in April 1997. It took on the functions of the Scottish Film Council, the Scottish Film Production Fund, Scottish Screen Locations and Scottish Broadcast and Film Training, forming a unitary organisation.Scottish...

, STV and Bòrd na Gàidhlig

Bòrd na Gàidhlig

Bòrd na Gàidhlig is a quango appointed by the Scottish Government with responsibility for Scottish Gaelic...

Food and drink

Although the Deep fried Mars bar is jokingly said to exemplify the modern Scottish diet, Scottish cuisine offers such traditional dishes as haggis

Haggis

Haggis is a dish containing sheep's 'pluck' , minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach.Haggis is a kind...

, the Arbroath Smokie

Arbroath Smokie

Arbroath Smokies are a type of smoked haddock – a speciality of the town of Arbroath in Angus, Scotland.-History:The Arbroath Smokie originated in the small fishing village of Auchmithie, three miles northeast of Arbroath. Local legend has it a store caught fire one night, destroying barrels...

, salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

, venison

Venison

Venison is the meat of a game animal, especially a deer but also other animals such as antelope, wild boar, etc.-Etymology:The word derives from the Latin vēnor...

, cranachan

Cranachan

Cranachan is a traditional Scottish dessert. In more modern times it is usually made from a mixture of whipped cream, whisky, honey , and fresh raspberries with toasted oatmeal soaked overnight, in a little whisky. Atholl brose is a drink using similar ingredients but does not contain raspberries...

, bannock

Bannock (food)

Bannock is a variety of flat quick bread. The word can also be applied to any large, round article baked or cooked from grain. When a round bannock is cut into wedges, the wedges are often called scones. But in Scotland, the words bannock and scone are often used interchangeably.-Scottish:"Bannock"...

, Scotch Broth

Scotch broth

Scotch broth is a filling soup, originating in Scotland but now obtainable worldwide. The principal ingredients are usually barley, stewing or braising cuts of lamb or mutton , and root vegetables such as carrots, turnips or swedes. Greens, particularly cabbage and leeks, can also be added, usually...

and shortbread

Shortbread

Shortbread is a type of unleavened biscuit which is traditionally made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three parts oatmeal flour. The use of plain white flour is common today, and other ingredients like ground rice or cornflour are sometimes added to alter the texture...

.

Scotland is also known for its Scotch whisky

Scotch whisky

Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland.Scotch whisky is divided into five distinct categories: Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Single Grain Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky , Blended Grain Scotch Whisky, and Blended Scotch Whisky.All Scotch whisky must be aged in oak barrels for at least three...

and its distilleries, as well as for Scottish beer.

The soft drink Irn-Bru is cited by its manufacturer A.G. Barr

A.G. Barr

A.G. Barr plc or commonly known as Barr's is a British soft drinks manufacturer, based in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is particularly notable for the manufacture of the popular Scottish drink, Irn-Bru. A.G. Barr is the largest manufacturer of soft drinks in the United Kingdom...

as Scotland's 'other' national drink owing to its large market share in Scotland.

Philosophy

Scotland has an extremely strong tradition in philosophy (especially for such a small country). Duns Scotus

Duns Scotus

Blessed John Duns Scotus, O.F.M. was one of the more important theologians and philosophers of the High Middle Ages. He was nicknamed Doctor Subtilis for his penetrating and subtle manner of thought....

was one of the premier Medieval scholastics. In the Scottish Enlightenment

Scottish Enlightenment

The Scottish Enlightenment was the period in 18th century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By 1750, Scots were among the most literate citizens of Europe, with an estimated 75% level of literacy...

Edinburgh became the home for an astonishing amount of intellectual talent, including Francis Hutcheson

Francis Hutcheson (philosopher)

Francis Hutcheson was a philosopher born in Ireland to a family of Scottish Presbyterians who became one of the founding fathers of the Scottish Enlightenment....

, David Hume

David Hume

David Hume was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism. He was one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment...

, and Adam Smith

Adam Smith

Adam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...

. However other cities also produced major thinkers at this time: Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

for example, produced Thomas Reid

Thomas Reid

The Reverend Thomas Reid FRSE , was a religiously trained Scottish philosopher, and a contemporary of David Hume, was the founder of the Scottish School of Common Sense, and played an integral role in the Scottish Enlightenment...

. While the Scottish contribution in the 19th and 20th centuries has not been quite so impressive, there has been a steady stream of major philosophers.

Folklore

Halloween

Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...

is a traditional and much celebrated holiday in Scotland on the night of October 31. The name Halloween is first attested in the 16th century as a Scottish

Scottish English

Scottish English refers to the varieties of English spoken in Scotland. It may or may not be considered distinct from the Scots language. It is always considered distinct from Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic language....

shortening of the fuller All-Hallows-Even, and according to some historians it has its roots in the gaelic

Gaels

The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....

festival Samhain

Samhain

Samhain is a Gaelic harvest festival held on October 31–November 1. It was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and was popularised as the "Celtic New Year" from the late 19th century, following Sir John Rhys and Sir James Frazer...

, where the Gaels believed the border between this world and the otherworld

Otherworld

Otherworld, or the Celtic Otherworld, is a concept in Celtic mythology that refers to the home of the deities or spirits, or a realm of the dead.Otherworld may also refer to:In film and television:...

became thin, and the dead would revisit the mortal world. In 1780, Dumfries

Dumfries

Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...

poet John Mayne

John Mayne

John Mayne , was a Scottish poet born in Dumfries, South West Scotland. In 1780, his poem The Siller Gun appeared in its original form in Ruddiman's Magazine, published by Walter Ruddiman in Edinburgh. It is a humorous poem descriptive of an ancient custom in Dumfries of shooting for the "Siller...

makes note of pranks at Halloween; "What fearfu' pranks ensue!", as well as the supernatural associated with the night, "Bogies" (ghosts). The bard of Scotland Robert Burns

Robert Burns

Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...

' 1785 poem Halloween
Halloween (poem)
"Halloween" is a poem written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1785. First published in 1786, the poem is included in the Kilmarnock volume...

is recited by Scots at Halloween, and Burns was influenced by Mayne's composition. In Scotland, traditional Halloween customs include; Guising — children disguised in costume

Halloween costume

Halloween costumes are costumes worn on or around Halloween, a festival which falls on October 31. The Halloween costume has a fairly short history. Wearing costumes has long been associated with other holidays around the time of Halloween, even Christmas...

going from door to door requesting food or coins — which became practice by the late 19th century, turnips hollowed-out and carved with faces to make lanterns, holding parties where games such as apple bobbing are played. Further contemporary imagery of Halloween is derived from Gothic

Gothic fiction

Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...

and Horror

Horror fiction

Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...

literature (notably Shelley

Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus . She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley...

's Frankenstein
Frankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...

and Stoker

Bram Stoker

Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula...

's Dracula
Dracula
Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...

), and classic horror films (such as Hammer Horrors). Mass transatlantic Irish and Scottish immigration in the 19th century popularized Halloween in North America.

Facts of Scottish culture

Scotland also has its own unique family of languages and dialects, helping to foster a strong sense of "Scottish-ness". See Scots language

Scots language

Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...

and Scottish Gaelic language

Scottish Gaelic language

Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....

. An organisation called Iomairt Cholm Cille

Columba Initiative

The Columba Project or Iomairt Cholm Cille, formerly known as the Columba Initiative is a program for Gaelic speakers in Scotland and Ireland to meet each other more often, and in so doing to learn more of the language, heritage and lifestyles of one another...

has been set up to support Gaelic-speaking communities in both Scotland and Ireland and to promote links between them.

Scotland retains its own national church, separate from that of England. See Church of Scotland

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

and Religion in the United Kingdom

Religion in the United Kingdom

Religion in the United Kingdom and the states that pre-dated the UK, was dominated by forms of Christianity for over 1,400 years. Although a majority of citizens still identify with Christianity in many surveys, regular church attendance has fallen dramatically since the middle of the 20th century,...

. There is also a large minority of Roman Catholics, around 20-25% of the population.

The patron saints of Scotland is Saint Andrew

Saint Andrew

Saint Andrew , called in the Orthodox tradition Prōtoklētos, or the First-called, is a Christian Apostle and the brother of Saint Peter. The name "Andrew" , like other Greek names, appears to have been common among the Jews from the 3rd or 2nd century BC. No Hebrew or Aramaic name is recorded for him...

, and Saint Andrew's Day is celebrated in Scotland on 30 November. Saint (Queen) Margaret

Saint Margaret of Scotland

Saint Margaret of Scotland , also known as Margaret of Wessex and Queen Margaret of Scotland, was an English princess of the House of Wessex. Born in exile in Hungary, she was the sister of Edgar Ætheling, the short-ruling and uncrowned Anglo-Saxon King of England...

, Saint Columba

Saint Columba

-Saints:* Columba , Irish Christian saint who evangelized Scotland* Columba the Virgin, also known as Saint Columba of Cornwall* Columba of Sens* Columba of Spain* Columba of Terryglass* Sancta Columba -Schools:...

and Saint Ninian

Saint Ninian

Saint Ninian is a Christian saint first mentioned in the 8th century as being an early missionary among the Pictish peoples of what is now Scotland...

have also historically enjoyed great popularity.

Interceltic festivals

As one of the Celtic nations

Celtic nations

The Celtic nations are territories in North-West Europe in which that area's own Celtic languages and some cultural traits have survived.The term "nation" is used in its original sense to mean a people who share a common traditional identity and culture and are identified with a traditional...

, Scotland is represented at interceltic events at home and around the world. Scotland is host to two interceltic music festivals – the Scottish Arts Council

Scottish Arts Council

The Scottish Arts Council is a Scottish public body that distributes funding from the Scottish Government, and is the leading national organisation for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland...

funded Celtic Connections

Celtic Connections

The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, and has since been held every January. Featuring over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of traditional Scottish music and also features international...

, Glasgow, and the Hebridean Celtic Festival

Hebridean Celtic Festival

The Hebridean Celtic Festival is an international Celtic music festival, which takes place annually in Stornoway on Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The biggest headliners to date have been Runrig, The Waterboys, Proclaimers and Van Morrison...

, Stornoway – that were founded in the mid 1990s.

Scottish culture is also represented at interceltic festivals of music and culture worldwide. Among the most well known are Festival Interceltique de Lorient

Festival Interceltique de Lorient

The Festival Interceltique de Lorient or Gouelioù Etrekeltiek An Oriant was founded in Lorient, Brittany in 1971 by Polig Montjarret...

– held annually in Brittany

Brittany

Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

since 1971 – the Pan Celtic Festival

Pan Celtic Festival

The Féile Pan Cheilteach or Pan Celtic Festival is held in the Republic of Ireland and was first held in 1971 in Killarney, Ireland. It has been held annually in the week following Easter annually since then....

, Ireland, and the National Celtic Festival, Portarlington

Portarlington, Victoria

Portarlington is a historic coastal township located on the Bellarine Peninsula, 27km from the city of Geelong, in the state of Victoria, Australia. The gently rising hills behind the town feature vineyards and olive groves, overlooking Port Phillip Bay. Portarlington is a popular family holiday...

, Australia.

External links

Scotland Cultural Profile - Scottish national cultural portal created with funding from the Scottish Executive
Scottish Executive
The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...
Scottish legal tender
Iomairt Cholm Cille

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Scots law

Banking and currency

Sports

Media

Food and drink

Philosophy

Folklore

Facts of Scottish culture

Interceltic festivals

See also

External links