When is St Andrew's Day 2025? How to celebrate Scotland's national day - including ceilidhs and haggis
St Andrews Day will take place before the end of November - here’s everything you need to know about Scotland’s national day.
Millions across Scotland will be celebrating St Andrews Day this weekend, with plenty of traditional activities, food and drink to celebrate with.
Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s national day.
When is St Andrew’s Day 2025?
St Andrew’s Day will take place on Sunday, November 30. It always takes place on November 30.
The national day is in fact an official bank holiday in Scotland. This means that as this year’s day falls on a weekend, the official bank holiday will be observed on Monday, December 1.
Many Scottish businesses and some schools may chose to close their doors to observe the bank holiday, however other chose to stay open as the official bank holiday is not set in law.
How do Scots celebrate St Andrew’s Day?
While more of a fuss is normally made of Burns Night (which takes place on January 25), some people do take the opportunity to take part in some uniquely Scottish activities to mark St Andrew Day.
Eating and drinking some traditional fare is the easiest way to make the day. Of course, the go-to activity would be enjoying some haggis, neeps and tatties for your dinner. You can also try traditional dishes such as cullen skink (a creamy fish soup), black pudding, or stovies (a Scottish stew made with meat and potatoes and often served with oatcakes). You can follow it up with Cranachan for dessert- this is a traditional pudding made of a mix of cream, oats, raspberries and splash of whisky.
Speaking of which, a dram of Scotch whisky is a go-to for Scots who take a liking to the smoky drink. For those who want to avoid the alcohol, Irn Bru (Scotland’s unofficial national drink) is a popular sweet carbonated juice that is synonymous with the country.
Ceilidh (pronounced ‘kay-lee’) dancing is a traditional form of folk dance in Scotland, with Ceilidh events taking place across the country.
A number of community events will also be taking place across the country, including in cities such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, and in smaller towns including St Andrews itself.